Song of the Condemned
by LoquitorLatinae
Summary: Sequel to "Haunted by an Angel". Two years have passed when a new supernatural enemy arises, and now Roxas has to finally come to terms with his feelings for Axel and just try to survive! AxelRoxas, RikuSora, LeonCloud, DemyxZexion. Author's Note added!
1. Chapter 1

Deep breath…I'M BAAACK! Woot! Salue amicos cum gratias! LoquitorLatinae here! I'm so happy that I've still been getting reviews for "Haunted". Anyway, here's the first chapter of the sequel, which is promising to be just as romantic, terrifying, dramatic, and cute as its predecessor, if not more! I figured I'd start out with a bang and see where it takes us. Hope you enjoy! I'd love to hear from old friends and all new reviewers! I'm going to make a definite effort to actually reply to every review, last time I was just lazy. :D Oh ya, for all who haven't read "Haunted by an Angel", I'd suggest you read it first before this story, everything will make a whole lot more sense, I promise.

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Roxas sighed, readjusting his hold on his backpack strap as he trudged home. It was almost embarrassing really, he did have his license after all. Just no car. But he had gotten a part-time job and was saving up his own money to help pay for it. As soon as he had enough money to pay for the insurance, Leon and Cloud would take him out car shopping. He couldn't wait. He kicked at a pile of dead leaves in the gutter as reached their street, their old house looking almost picturesque at the end of the court settled among the autumn-colored trees.

When he got inside, he was momentarily surprised to see Sora's backpack thrown hap-hazardly to the side of the entrance hall, Riku's messenger bag hung up on the wall hook above it. He had forgotten, now that those two were in college, their classes were always at random times.

Riku and Sora were lounging in the parlor. Riku had a pair of reading glasses balanced on his nose, a book in his lap and one arm draped on the back of the couch behind Sora who was leaning forward as he battled with his video game controller. Roxas snorted, watching Sora yank the poor controller around. "Watch it, it's a PS2, not a Wii."

"But I have to beat the boss. One level left!" With a look of extreme concentration, Sora jerked it up, fighting as hard as his character on the screen.

Rolling his eyes, Roxas dropped down on the couch beside his brother, unzipping his backpack and pulling out his homework. He knew that if he didn't get it done early, it was never going to get finished. "I'm so lucky to have such great role models."

Sora looked away from his game long enough to glance over at his silver-haired boyfriend. "Riku's reading."

Leaning back, Roxas caught sight of the book title. "Treasure Island?"

Riku looked up, his teal eyes still as stunning as always against his pale skin. "I'm acquainting myself with the classics. It's surprisingly good writing so far. And speaking of writing, have you gotten your English essay back yet?"

Nodding, Roxas pulled out a sheaf of paper, a small smile making its way onto his face. "Yep. Got an A. No real surprise after you edited it though."

"I didn't do all that much. You had good points and your writing was very solid. I knew it was going to get good marks." Riku tilted his head to the side. "I still don't quite understand though why my professor looked so surprised when I went to his office with the first draft of my own paper. He kept on questioning me about the strangest things."

Sora grinned, his eyes back on his game. "It's because you write so old-fashioned!"

"Hm, maybe." Smiling, he lifted his hand to fondly run his fingers through Sora's brown spikes, smiling a little when Sora leaned into the touch. "Although that is not so unexplainable."

"Not to us, but it's not like you can tell your teacher you're over a century old…" Roxas muttered.

Riku shrugged. "I suppose they will have to grow accustomed to my style then. And perhaps I will work harder to write more modern." Setting his book aside and taking off his glasses, he stretched, looking down at the glowing digital clock on the VCR. "It's later than I thought though. Isn't Leon supposed to be getting home sometime soon?"

"He probably found a new pile of paperwork or something," Roxas said, the blond jumping a bit as the phone sitting beside him on the side table rang loudly, grabbing for it with a sheepish growl. "That's probably him now. Hello, Strife house." He paused, listening on the other end before rolling his eyes. He had guessed right. "Hey Leon…No, it's fine, Riku and Sora are here too…Alright, well watch out, that building looks like its practically rotting from the inside out…" After a few more words, he hung up, turning back to the other two. "Leon and Yuffie were apparently called to check out that old asylum on the edge of town. He'll be back soon though."

Sora wrinkled his nose with distaste. "That place is creepy. Especially since those huge front doors have those freaky gargoyle handles. I still remember when Tidus dared Wakka and me to go in."

"Did you?" Roxas asked, sitting forward curiously. The place was notorious for being a teenage hang-out, or rather, where all the teens went when they wanted to seem tough. Somehow Roxas couldn't see his big brother or his friends stepping a single foot inside.

"No! It's creepy. Tidus only dropped it after we said that he'd have to go in with us."

Riku sighed. "I remember when they built that place. My father actually took me to its grand unveiling. It was a while back though, while I was still a child. It was quite lovely at the time."

"Why was your dad invited to a place for crazy people?"

"City politics, it was always important to be seen with the most important people. And building an asylum wasn't that unheard of. In fact the one they opened in the city was supposedly one of the most humane; it was even suitable for people with only minor psychological problems." Riku paused for a moment trying to think of a modern comparison. "It was more of a live-in rehabilitation center, although by modern standards I suppose it was actually rather backwards."

Shivering, Sora shook his head. "Doesn't matter what it was. It's freaky now." He let out a cry of dismay as Riku stood up to leave the parlor, waving his hand as the picture on the television immediately went fuzzy. "Riku, go sit down, I'm in a boss battle!"

Riku grimaced but dutifully plopped back down in his seat, making the picture on the television come back into focus as Roxas snickerd. Even after two years, Riku's connection with the supernatural world was still strong, though only in their house. Usually it wasn't much of a problem but they had discovered after several accidents that inside the house at least, Riku and electronics didn't get along. At all. Apparently he still emitted a sort of magnetic field that was usually reserved for ghosts, the kind that unfortunately caused televisions, computers, and anything else that required complicated electronics to act up if they were in his range. Luckily for him, once he left the immediate property, he was only hindered by his own personal ignorance of how to use modern technology, meaning that he had just barely learned how to type up his papers for classes in the college library.

Looking out the window at the darkening sky, Riku sighed, he always forgot how early the sun set in autumn. He could only hope that Leon wouldn't have too much trouble walking around in the building once night fell. As it was though, the sunset was a brilliant mixture of reds, oranges, and pinks. He let out a muffled grunt as he was startled from his thoughts as Sora bumped against him, the younger smiling broadly. "I beat the boss! You are now free to move around the cabin, thanks for waiting."

Shaking his head at the unfamiliar but undoubtedly modern reference, Riku leaned down to peck Sora on the forehead before standing up. "I was just going to go into the kitchen to see what we might have for dinner. If both Leon and Cloud are getting home late we shouldn't make either one worry about feeding us. Care to help me look?"

Sora grinned, putting his game on pause before getting up too. "That's probably a good idea. Hey, we might even have some leftovers still. That would be easy to reheat!" Turning to Roxas, who had also begun to stand up, he wagged his finger teasingly. "You still need to finish your homework like a good high school student. Leave the cooking to us adults."

Roxas frowned, muttering, "Says the person who doesn't even have their license yet and can't boil water without burning it." He ignored Sora's noise of protest as he went back to his homework, silently agreeing that it would be better if he got it done now. Both Cloud and Leon were probably going to be tired from their long days, making a perfect excuse for a movie night. Maybe they could watch a horror movie.

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Leon reached to grab his flashlight from the back of the patrol car after glancing at the imposing Neo-Classical façade of the asylum. It was probably going to get dark before they could finish checking the entire place out and he was in no mood to be stumbling around blindly. Yuffie glanced over at him as she pouted in the passenger's seat, poking his side vindictively as he stretched back for the flashlight. "I don't know why I was the one you had to drag here."

Leon swatted her hand away. "Everyone else was on patrol or going over cases. You were baking cookies in the staff room. Besides, there's nothing wrong with the building."

"Hello, Earth to Leon!" Yuffie gestured wildly to the building, "Look at it! It's creepy! It's falling apart! We'll probably be killed by a falling ceiling tile hitting our heads."

Leon rolled his eyes as he shoved his police cap onto his head. "It's not creepy, it's just an old building. Just think of it as a historic landmark." He let out a breath of air as Yuffie crossed her arms and sunk down into the seat, the girl clearly having no intent on leaving the car. "Look, we got a report of teenagers going inside again and if the place is falling apart like you said then we shouldn't let those idiot punks get themselves killed. We can leave as soon as we clear them out and lock the place up."

"But what if it's haunted?"

"It's not haunted, Yuffie. Now get out of the car."

Yuffie huffed but after a few moments finally crawled out of the car, nervously putting on her own blue cap. "Alright, but you better not leave me alone or I'll kick your ass."

Leon didn't reply as they approached the building but he had no doubt that the threat was a serious one. The young woman was small, but she was also skilled at too many martial arts for him to keep track of. It had something to do with a childhood dream of becoming a ninja. Walking up the front steps, he nudged the front door open, peering into the dark atrium before announcing loudly. "This is the Radiant Garden Police. You're trespassing on government property. Come out with your hands up!"

Yuffie snorted beside him, clicking on her own small flashlight as they stepped inside. "You know that never works…"

"It's proper procedure."

Shaking her head, Yuffie gingerly tiptoed over a chunk of plaster that had fallen from the ceiling. The inside of the place matched the dilapidation of the exterior. The large room looked as if it used to be some sort of reception hall. A large, rusting chandelier was hanging from the middle of the ceiling and old benches were thrown about the room, obviously having been moved from their original locations. There was even a sort of reception desk, but like everything else it was covered in a thick layer of dust, the wallpaper behind it broken and peeling. Cobwebs hung from everything and Leon found himself swiping in front of himself every so often to avoid getting one square in the face. The large windows at one point must have brought beautiful light into the room but now they were so covered in grime that it was nearly black inside. Shining his light on the ground, Leon quickly noticed trails of footprints in the dust leading toward a door on the left side of the room. "Come on," he said, "They're this way."

Yuffie sighed, "Why do I get the feeling that they're hiding from us?" Putting a hand on her hip, she called out, "Hey, we know you're in here! That's what happens when you're too noisy, the police come! Why don't you just come out so you won't get in trouble for resisting authority?" She blinked, noticing that during her speech Leon had moved over to the door, "Hey, Leon, what did I say about leaving me alone?!"

The building was larger than Leon had hoped but at least they were getting closer to their targets. Actually, he was getting fairly pissed off; their shuffling and whispers were always just one step ahead of them, it was infuriating. He was not going to go easy on those punks once they finally caught up to them, the handcuffs were definitely coming out. He was also getting angry because he could feel himself starting to get warier with each hallway they walked down. They had become progressively less and less attractive, in fact it now appeared as if they had been led into the hall that was lined with isolation cells. The fact that Yuffie was now clutching onto his sleeve was not helping his nerves any.

"Yuffie, get off."

"No way!" She whispered. She gave a little jump as one of the thick doors beside them squeaked a little, apologizing when her small jump startled Leon as well. "Sorry, I just don't like old buildings!"

Leon shook her off, "I need my arm Yuffie, and so do you." He sighed when he caught sight of her face. "You can walk next to me just don't hang on me."

Yuffie nodded, her eyes widening as she caught something moving out of the corner of her eye, pumping her arm into the air despite her nervousness. "Ha! I just saw something go into the room at the end of the hall. Let's get 'em and get out of here!"

Grimacing, Leon nonetheless followed after the excited young woman, just as surprised as her when they entered the door and found themselves in another large room. Stomping her foot, Yuffie looked around at all the furniture thrown hap-hazardly around the room. "Ugh, this place is so confusing, and it's dark as hell in here too! Oh, I'm going to beat those kids into a bloody mess once I get my hands on them."

Leon shook his head, he had had about enough of this place. It was getting more unnerving by the moment and for the last few minutes he had been getting the sinking suspicion that there were no actual people anywhere in the building. Which left one very undesirable option. Putting his hand on Yuffie's shoulder, he started to move her out of the room. "I've had enough. Let's go, Yuffie."

"But what about-"

"I said, let's go." The low tone of his voice left no room for disagreement and having no real urge to disagree, Yuffie just shrugged and let herself be pushed along. Her foot was on the threshold of the door when suddenly they heard what sounded like a quiet groan from behind them. Both of them stopped, Leon's body going rigid as he gripped onto Yuffie's shoulder. Closing his stormy eyes, he took a quiet breath, he could handle this damn it, it's not like he hadn't seen it before. Reaching down to feel the security of his gun against his hand, he slowly turned around, pinpointing where the noise had come from as an upturned table shifted just slightly from against the wall as if something was pushing against it from the other side.

"Stay behind me, Yuffie, and whatever happens, don't go off anywhere alone," Leon growled, inching toward the table.

"Y-You don't have to remind me!" Yuffie whispered.

They stopped again, halfway to the table when another deep moan came from behind it. Leon noted with a hint of disgust that they had only covered about ten feet. Straightening up resolutely, he strode forward purposefully, like hell he was going to be so intimidated. Letting out a squeak, Yuffie followed after him, hissing quietly, "Leon what are you doing?"

Leon shook his head, steeling himself as he came up to the table before pulling out his gun and in one heartbeat kicking the piece of furniture out of the way. "Police! Put your hands up-" His voice caught in his throat as Yuffie gasped, "Auron?"

Leon hadn't seen the ghost hunter for over a year but the man was clearly not at his best. Blood was trickling down from a cut on his face that was being hidden by some loose hair and his right arm was hanging in what looked to be makeshift sling made from his coat. Letting out a low curse, Leon shoved his revolver back into its holster, kneeling down on one leg to get a better look before barking at Yuffie. "Call for an ambulance on the radio-"

He was cut off again, but this time by Auron who sat up, shaking his head as if to clear it, "Wait, there's no need for that."

Leon frowned. "You might feel differently when you see that gash on your eye. What the hell are you even doing here?"

"I should be asking you two the same question. What time is it?"

Yuffie looked down at her watch. "About six-thirty."

"I haven't been out for too long then." Auron looked down, thinking before he nodded curtly. "Good, we should have some time left before they regain their strength." Frowning, he shifted for a moment before sighing. "I don't suppose I could get a hand up?"

Leon frowned, grabbing onto Auron's left wrist and heaving him onto his feet. The man stumbled, leaning on Leon only momentarily as he gained his balance before straightening up with a grimace. Seeing the pained expression, Leon's frown deepened. "You never did say why you were here, or why you were apparently causing enough noise to get someone to call the police."

"I wasn't making the noise. It was the spirits."

"S-Spirits?" Yuffie asked, her voice breaking as she latched onto Leon's arm again. Leon couldn't really blame her, she had an imagination almost as big as Sora's.

Auron looked at her for a moment as if to try and gauge how well she could handle a supernatural situation before finally nodding. "Yes. I was called in by the city to evaluate the building. As it turns out it's a little more active than I imagined. I wasn't quite as prepared as I would have liked." His eyes drifted down to his right arm before he shook his head. "I only ended up making them angry but before they were able to do any lasting damage I managed to drive them away for the moment."

"Alright. Let's get out of here then." Leon grabbed Auron's good arm and wrapped it over his shoulders before turning to Yuffie, his voice gruff. "Grab onto his coat and don't let go."

Yuffie nodded, grabbing onto Auron's long red coat, her lips pursed together. It was obvious that she didn't know quite what was going on, but she picked up on the tension in Leon's voice and she knew that it had something to do with ghosts. Leon's senses were high strung as he navigated their way back to the entrance, his hand continually wanting to go down to his gun. He knew that it wouldn't help him any against ghosts but it would make him feel more secure to have it in his hand anyway. Auron chuckled when he caught sight of the movement. "If you wanted that to be useful, you should carry rock salt with you."

"Rock salt?"

"Spirits can't stand the stuff, it would at least be able to hold them off for a while. In fact I should really think about carrying one myself."

As they were passing though the cell-lined hall, Yuffie suddenly let out a little squeak, "L-Leon, something just moved in one of those rooms!"

"Ignore it, Yuffie." Leon growled. "Keep your eyes on the floor if you have to."

Leon himself had been ignoring the shadows darting across the walls for the last few minutes. By Auron's grim silence, he knew that the other man was aware of the growing danger of their situation. Moving half a step faster, Leon choked back a curse as he noticed a full fledged shadow peering out of the doorway they just passed, the black figure not two feet away from him. He could almost feel a growing pressure coming up behind them, the feeling that came with interacting with the supernatural crawling up the back of his neck. He hadn't felt that sort of feeling for two years, since Ansem had oppressed their house. It made him feel almost cornered, his whole body bristling defensively.

The door to the main entrance hall was right ahead of them, just a few yards away. Leon's blue-gray eyes widened involuntarily when he saw a handprint appear above the door, the print a dark red as it streaked down a few inches before stopping. Then a second one appeared beside it, streaking down just as the first one. Whatever it was was clearly trying to intimidate them, to keep them from going toward the door. But Leon sure as hell wasn't going to stray from his path to the main exit. Steeling himself, he pulled them through the doorway.

The entrance hall was quiet, but the tension was almost tangible. It felt as if the room was filled with people. Leon realized after a second that he could actually hear them, their footsteps and even a sort of low muttering. Growling, he was about to ask Auron if he would be able to help more with anything when there was a scraping noise from behind them. At the sound of Yuffie's shriek, he whipped around to see one of the benches move an inch toward them before it suddenly rushed forward. Cursing, Leon shoved Auron out of the way, knowing that despite her immaturity Yuffie could take care of herself, and watched as the young woman jumped over the moving bench like it was a hurdle, all three of them watching as it crashed into the far wall. Hearing another shudder of wood scraping against tile floor behind them, Leon readjusted his grip on Auron. "Yuffie. Take his other side."

Yuffie nodded, her face a little pale as she gingerly took Auron's elbow and helped Leon hurry them out of the building. Leon glanced back only once as they hurried to the police car, his body tensing when he saw shadowy forms staring back at him from behind the main windows. His attention was pulled away from the multitudes of faces when Yuffie called out to him. "Leon, don't just stand there, start the car!"

Nodding, Leon wrenched open the door of the patrol car then reached for his cell phone which he had left in the vehicle.

He was going to be home later than he thought.

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"Sora, could you get the phone please?"

"Sure, Riku!" Sora ran for the phone as Riku let out a small sigh of relief, the former ghosts's arms submerged in soapy water as he washed out a pot from their first attempt at dinner. As much as Riku loved him, his boyfriend really was a disaster in the kitchen. Even he could do better and he grew up relying on a butler for all of his meals. Shaking his head with a small smile, Riku looked around the kitchen; it was surprising actually how many things had remained the same despite the changing times. Of course, he wouldn't have ever condescended to washing the dishes himself back when he and his father lived in the house; that was what the hired help was for.

He was brought from his thoughts when Sora popped back into the kitchen, his lips set in a cute little pout. "Hey Riku, do we have Axel's phone number?"

"I would think it should be somewhere after everything." Riku paused, tilting his head to the side as he thought. "I can't think of where it is though."

Sora hummed thoughtfully then brightened. "Ah, I know!" Leaning back out of the kitchen, he called out. "Roxas! I need Axel's phone number!"

There was a moment of silence before Roxas's voice echoed back, the tone laced with embarrassment. "Why the hell would I have that freak's number?"

Rolling his eyes, Sora grinned, chirping out in a sing-sing voice. "Stop pretending, Leon needs it!"

Another moment passed before Roxas trudged into the kitchen, shoving his cell-phone into his older brother's awaiting hand, his cheeks tinted pink as he tried to defend himself. "I don't actually call him, it's just for emergencies…"

"Emergencies?"

Roxas bristled then huffed. "We lived in a haunted house, it still practically is haunted. Of course I would have the number of a professional paranormal investigator." Realizing that Sora's grin wasn't faltering and that he had just thoughtlessly complimented Axel, Roxas crossed his arms. "Just give my phone back when you're done."

As Roxas left out of the room, Sora chuckled then walked over to Riku and pecked him on the cheek. Riku smirked though the rest of his face was bemused. "Was that for any reason in particular?"

"Nope!" Sora smiled at him then raised the phone back up to his ear, turning away as he read Axel's number to Leon from Roxas's phone. Chuckling, Riku watched Sora for a moment then went back to washing the dishes. After a second though, he stopped, wondering what Leon could have wanted with Axel.


	2. Chapter 2: Secrets in Hiding

Yay, I'm happy that I got so many reviews for my first chapter, I'm glad so many people have found it! As you might have noticed, I ended up labeling this story under Axel/Roxas. That's because they're the ones in the changing relationship this time, yay! Okay, so thanks go out to PirataNoctis, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Jynxer120, Broken Mushroom, yumie-darkness123, 330INSANITY, Kaida Shade, auPHE, Misz Lovely x0x, Canderjack, TMX Archives, Amayachan67, Tinker16, NightmareFairy, DemonicxTears, blackrose1993, Aindel S. Druida, XxSurrealAngelxX, Pawky, key46812, Kanpa. Thanks for reviewing on the first chapter, I always appreciate it! :D

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Roxas stared up at the imposing façade of the asylum before turning to see his family helping to unload monitoring equipment and other ghost investigating necessities from a certain familiar van. His face betrayed none of his emotions as he asked, "So, why are we here again?"

"Because I asked nice?" Roxas's face turned an interesting shade of red as a hand fell on his shoulder, the color matching Axel's hair as the red-head smirked. Dressed up in his usual black trench coat, he looked nearly the same as he had two years ago, his sharp green eyes dancing just as playfully. "By the way, did I happen to see a certain someone in the driver's seat?"

"That's right," Sora smiled, stretching out his back after he set down the box he had been carrying. "Roxas has his license now!"

"Aw, little Roxy's growing up." Roxas squawked as Axel drew him into a tight hug, the air rushing out of his lungs and his feet almost leaving the ground as he found himself pulled up against Axel's lanky frame. "I'm so proud of you." Axel's grin widened, "How about the two of us go for a ride sometime?"

"Did you have to make that sound so perverted?" Roxas grumbled, his cheeks still burning as he sunk down as if trying to slip down and out of Axel's grip. "There's no way in hell I'm getting in a car alone with you."

"Axel, let go of Roxas!"

Sighing, Axel released the blond teen as Leon's growled command carried from the van. "I swear your dad has eyes in the back of his head. By the way, why is he carrying a gun?"

"I'm glad he has his eyes on you. Someone has to." Roxas crossed his arms, his glare shifting to the asylum looming over them. "And he's carrying a gun because it's filled with rock salt." Axel nodded understandingly and Roxas, thankful that he didn't have to explain, jerked his head to the building. "But seriously, why are we here? Isn't this supposed to be your job?"

Smirking, Axel patted Roxas's head. "Isn't it obvious? You five have already been around ghosts. Hell, Riku was a ghost, it's pretty damn good experience for situations like this. Best of all, you don't cost us a thing."

Overhearing their conversation as he was helping to move a box into the asylum with Zexion, Demyx sheepishly cleared his throat. "Actually Axel, we kinda promised them dinner."

"What? Since when?"

Zexion frowned, quickly coming to his boyfriend's defense. "It's a fair deal. We are requesting their help for nearly the entire night. The least we can do is buy a few pizzas."

Smirking, Roxas took his revenge for the hug. "I don't know, you might have to buy more than a few. Sora and I can each eat a medium one by ourselves if we're hungry."

Axel turned to face him, his expression somewhere between disgusted and amazed. "What, seriously? You're like five feet tall, where do you put it all?" Roxas shrugged and Axel shook his head. "Roxy, you're turning out to be an expensive date." He laughed as Roxas sputtered, apparently not minding the high potential cost as long as he got to see Roxas flustered. "Now come on, help me carry some of this stuff inside."

It was growing dark as they began to set up a sort of base camp in the main atrium. The inside of the asylum was cold and just as run down as Leon remembered, though with the ten of them there; the Strife family, Axel's group, and a recovering Auron, it seemed less ominous than before. Glancing at his watch, Axel called out, "All right, it's getting close to sun set. Let's start up the cameras and break up into groups. I want someone spiritual on each team, meaning Demyx and Zexion are going to have to split up tonight." Demyx pouted, latching onto Zexion's neck.

"Aw, do we have to?"

Auron cut into the conversation. "We will probably need the protection," he said. "Leon, you'll be on the first floor with me since we already are familiar with the layout. Riku, you'll be with us too. Namine, Cloud and Demyx will take the second floor, while Zexion, Axel and the Strife kids take the third."

Demyx's pout deepened, "Why do they get four people?"

"The attic is a larger open area. Furthermore, Zexion will be of use for them if some of the equipment malfunctions. They won't need to come all the way back downstairs if they take the techie with them."

Unable to argue with Auron's logic, Demyx sighed. "Fine…I guess we should get going then. Now which way are the stairs?"

There was a moment of silence before Riku spoke up quietly. "Farthest hallway on the left at the end of the atrium. With any luck they will still be perfectly functional."

Demyx nodded, grabbing Namine's hand and waving for Cloud to follow. Cloud glanced back at Leon but the brunette could only shrug. Both of them guessed that they were getting into more than they wanted but they did sort of owe Axel and the others for helping them with their house.

After finally having all split into their pre-described groups and being given equipment and walkie-talkies, Sora and Roxas found themselves up in the top floor of the asylum. The cobwebs were more prevalent than ever, nearly blanketing the beams and ceiling. Swallowing, Sora scooted closer to his little brother as a gust of wind swept through the attic, the wind creating an eerie whistle. Feeling his own spikes flutter in the slight breeze, Roxas frowned. He didn't like it up here any more than Sora. Even Axel had lost his trade-mark smirk as he made an initial sweep of the area with his flashlight. "Alright kiddies, let's make this thorough and quick."

Zexion nodded, walking past him and leading the group deeper into the attic. The room was thankfully mostly empty, a few pieces of large, moldy furniture creating some sort of perspective for how far back the attic really went. The four were silent as they crept across the wooden floor, Axel pulling an electromagnetic field reader from a pocket of his trench coat and switching it on. Testing it with the air, Axel frowned after a moment, smacking it once before waving it around again. "Must not be working right. The thing's registering absolutely nothing."

Frowning, Zexion snatched the meter out of the red-head's hands, muttering something about idiots using equipment until he looked down at the readings himself. His violet-gray eyebrows furrowed. "You are right. This doesn't make any sense."

"What's the matter?" Roxas asked quietly, unable to keep his curiosity silent.

Axel frowned, putting his hands on his hips. "According to Auron and Leon, this place should be drowning in energy. But that meter is literally flat lining. It's as if the entire place is well, dead. I guess we could still set up EVP recorders around the place though. It could be possible that the spirits up here are too weak to register on the electromagnetic scale."

It took a few minutes to place the recorders around the area but when that was finished they walked back over to the stairs, almost as if they were all more comfortable near an escape.

Chuckling weakly, Axel rubbed his hands together. "So, everyone having a fun time?"

Sora smiled. "Actually, it's better than I expected. I thought it was going to be really scary but it's not really that bad. It feels much better than our house did when Xemnas was around anyway."

"Feels like a false alarm to me but I actually trust our witnesses this time." Shoving his hands into his deep pockets, Axel scuffed his foot on the wood floorboard. "It would be better if it was warmer…" His voice trailed off, a smirk taking its place as a thought came to him. "Of course we could always share body heat."

Sensing the young man's eyes on him, Roxas smirked as well. "It's a good thing I have Sora then."

Axel sighed dramatically then spun on Zexion, opening his arms wide. "Guess it's just me and you Zexion. How about a hug?"

Edging away, Zexion quickly pulled out their walkie-talkie. "Why don't I see how the others are doing before we get desperate. Floor two, can you hear me?"

The walkie-talkie crackled then suddenly came to life. "Hiya Zexy, what's up?"

"Demyx…" Sighing, Zexion's eyebrow twitched a little. "Focus. I need to know if either you or Namine sense any spirit activity on your floor?"

Up in the attic, the four waited for a reply as another gust of wind came through the wood. Shivering, Roxas wrapped his arms around himself, scooting closer to Sora as Demyx's voice came back over the air. "Um, not really. It's really empty feeling. Sorry, Zexy. Maybe all of the activity is on the first floor."

Zexion was about to answer when the walkie-talkie came to life again, Leon's low voice a strong contrast to Demy's cheery chirp, his curt sentences undoubtedly from working with police radios. "Nothing on the first floor. Auron suggests we regroup in the atrium."

"Roger that! See you in a couple of minutes!" Demyx's chuckle could be heard over the crackling static, the Wiccan boy clearly amused with Leon's tone.

With another sigh, Zexion clipped the walkie-talkie back onto his belt. "You heard them. We should head back to figure out what to do next."

Frowning, Axel ran a hand through his red spikes. "This is really strange." His green eyes showed confusion as he turned to Zexion. "Auron was really beat up when Leon brought him to my apartment. I mean there must have been something seriously messed up with this place for him to have gotten into the condition he was in. I just can't understand where all of those spirits could have gone in one day, it's not like they could just disappear if they'd been existing here for years. But I guess an order's an order, we should collect our things and head out. Roxas, can you and Sora grab the recorder from the back corner?"

"Sure!" Grabbing Roxas's sleeve, Sora tugged them down the attic, eager to grab what they needed and get out. Even though the building didn't seem to be immediately haunted, it was still too creepy for Sora to feel comfortable. Peeking down among the rafters as they continued to walk, Sora asked quietly. "Hey Roxas, where did Axel put it again?"

"I think it's on top of that dresser over there in the corner. He probably didn't want it to fall through the floorboards."

Sora nodded, hurrying over to the dresser and peering up onto the top, having to stand up on his tiptoes in order to peer over the dusty, tall piece of furniture. "I see it! I might not be able to reach it though. Hm…if I open the lower drawer I could probably get it…"

"Don't kill yourself." Shoving his hands into his pockets, Roxas watched as Sora fumbled to grab the recorder. "Axel's an idiot for putting it up so high then sending us to go get it. What was he even thinking? Freaking giant…"

"I almost have it. It's just a half an inch away…"

Roxas tuned his brother out as he looked around the dark attic space. It really was dank and dirty up there. He almost wished that they had seen some supernatural action since they went to all the trouble to fully explore the area. Suddenly something caught his attention from behind the dresser, almost as if something had darted behind it. Frowning, Roxas glanced back at Sora once before walking around the bulking furniture piece, his breath catching in his throat when he saw a flash of white.

The air around him shuddered quietly and grew colder. Roxas swallowed as the white fluttered into view again, forming into a sort of fog that quickly twisted into the form of a figure. It was a young girl, her arms wrapped around her knees as she cowered in the small crawl space between the angled attic wall and the dresser. Roxas froze with shock for a moment, his blue eyes wide as he and the girl just stared at each other. Choking back his initial impulse to scream, something he remembered didn't work so well with Riku, he sent the girl a small smile then slowly backed away, finding his voice a few feet back. "A-Axel…" Realizing that he had whispered, Roxas swallowed, trying again a little louder. "Axel!"

There was a rush behind him, hands stabilizing his back as a low voice filled his ear. "Easy, Roxy, I'm right here." Roxas nodded, stepping back as Axel moved forward, falling back in step with Sora who was clutching the recorder to his chest.

Axel crouched down in front of the ghost girl, sending her a friendly smile as he reached his hand back, his palm up. Roxas blinked then looked around, realization hitting him as he took the EVP recorder from Sora and dropped it into Axel's hand. Pulling it in between himself and the ghost, Axel finally spoke up, his voice gentle and quiet, as if he really was talking to a frightened child. "Hey there, you don't have to be afraid, we're not going to hurt you. My name's Axel, what's yours?"

The ghost girl's eyes flashed over to Roxas. Axel's green gaze followed hers and he smiled. "That's Roxas. He's a nice kid and you know what? He would really like to know what happened to everyone here. Could you tell us, darling?" The ghost girl tightened her grip around her legs. "Did something bad happen to everyone?" She nodded.

Roxas watched as Axel tried to pull the story out of the ghost, surprised by how patient the red-head was being. When he heard that something bad had happened to the rest of the ghosts, Roxas glanced over at Sora, whose expression was one of concern. Roxas had no idea that anything could even happen to ghosts; they were dead, right? What else could go wrong with them? There was Riku of course, but that had been a situation he had died with. Ghosts could just suddenly disappear though; at least, as far as Roxas knew.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of wings flapping. Thinking it might be a pigeon or bat coming into the attic to roost, he turned toward the only open window, surprised when he saw a raven land on the window sill, its black eyes almost seeming to stare right at them.

At the sound of the flapping wings, the ghost girl's eyes had also flown to the window. When she saw the bird, her white eyes went wide, her form shuddering as her mouth opened. A strange, echoing shriek ripped though the attic, Axel stumbling back in surprise, cursing as the girl disappeared into a wisp of fog, the white mist twisting around the room in a panic. Sora and Roxas ducked as it flew at them, Roxas feeling a shudder run down his spine when he turned around to see that it had disappeared. "W-Where did it go?"

Axel straightened up, quickly walking over to Roxas and Sora and pulling them up, his hand on Roxas's shoulder somewhat stabilizing. "She probably went down into one of the lower levels. For whatever reason, that raven really freaked her out. Zexion-"

Zexion nodded, not needing to hear more. "I'll tell the others."

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Cloud, Demyx, and Namine had just met up with the others from floor one in the atrium when their two walkie-talkies came to life, Zexion's cool voice causing them all to fall silent. "We just sighted a ghost. It may be coming down to your levels. Be on the look out."

Demyx's eyes widened, his eyes flying up to the ceiling. "Aw, they saw a ghost? No fair. Hey Nami, can you sense it? Maybe it can help us figure out what happened here."

Namine shook her head, her eyes closed as she tried to reach out psychicly. "I don't sense anything different. It still all seems as empty as before."

All six of their heads turned as there was a sudden crashing noise from the nearest hallway. "What, what do you think that was then?" Demyx asked shakily.

"If Namine doesn't sense any spirits, then we know it's not supernatural. I know as well as anyone to trust her judgment." Auron muttered. "Maybe it really is just a teenager this time, right Leon?"

Leon frowned, stalking toward the hallway where the noise had come from, Cloud close on his heels. Prepared to have a ghost fly into his face or something just as terrifying, Leon was both surprised and relieved to see a strange looking man trying to climb out of the far window, the man's trouble coming partially because he looked nearly to portly to fit through the opening. "Hey, you!" Leon shouted, catching the dark-haired man's attention. "You're trespassing on government property!"

The stranger cursed, fighting with the window before he managed to squeeze though it, falling into the bushes that lined the front of the building. Growling, Leon broke into a run for the window, calling for Cloud to head out through the front door to hopefully cut the man off. There was only one exit from the property, the large gate at the end of the driveway. Gripping the window ledge, Leon stuck his head out of the window, his stormy eyes narrowing when he saw the stranger making a break for a car that must have pulled in while they were investigating. Jumping out of the window, much more gracefully than the stranger, Leon sprinted after him, his eyes catching sight of Cloud as the blond came running out of the front door.

Despite their speed, the man still had had a good head start, and by luck alone managed to pull himself into his car seconds before Leon made it to the vehicle. Cloud allowed himself to slow down as he saw Leon run at the car and pound on the window. "RGPD! Come out of the car with your hands up, you're under arrest!"

The man gave him a strange smirk that held both fear and overconfidence, starting the car and roaring it into reverse. Jerking his hand away before it could be hit with the side mirror, Leon grabbed his gun, firing once at the tires before remembering that he had filled the gun with salt, not good for puncturing the thick rubber. He threw the gun away with a grimace, tensing as the car rolled around in nearly a full circle before it started moving toward him. Backing up, Leon started running for the building, hearing the rumble of an engine right behind him just before he was tackled from the left and thrown to the side just as the car was forced to turn away in order to keep from slamming into the side of the building.

Spitting out dirt, Leon twisted over to find himself looking up at Cloud. Seeing that Leon was alright, Cloud let out a sigh of relief, dropping his head onto Leon's chest as he muttered. "God Leon, you just love to scare me out of my mind, don't you?"

"I wasn't planning to almost get run over a car."

"No, you just approached the vehicle without any sort of plan." Sitting up, Cloud tapped the scar bridging Leon's nose. "Just because you're a police officer doesn't mean you can risk your life all the time."

Running his hand through his hair as he sat up too, Leon looked up at Cloud with an almost sheepish expression. "Sorry."

Cloud rolled his eyes fondly. "Too little too late. I've learned to deal with it. Now come on, we should probably stand up before they think we're dead."

Leon nodded and they stood up, brushing dirt and stray branches off of themselves as they trudged back toward the asylum. Auron was standing in the entry-way, his face relaxing somewhat when he saw the two other men. "Good. I saw you dodge out of the way but I'm glad to see you're uninjured." Sensing an unasked question, Auron shook his head. "The man got away. After seeing that he wasn't afraid to run someone down, we all decided it was better to stay inside."

"Probably a good decision," Cloud said, "He didn't seem to have a problem with trying to kill Leon."

Leon frowned, straightening his shirt. "Did you check to see what he was doing here?"

"The other three went to go check once they realized you weren't dead." Auron turned as Demyx ran up to them, the blond nearly bouncing with excitement. "What is it, boy? Your bouncing is giving me a headache."

"We found something strange, you have to come see it!" Grabbing the edge of Auron's cloak, Demyx dragged him down into the hallway, Cloud and Leon following behind. He led them into a small room where Riku was looking over Namine's shoulder as she drew a sketch of a black symbol that had been placed at eye level on the wall. Cloud tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowing as he gazed at the strange mark. "What is it?"

"Not really sure." Demyx bounced over to the symbol, which looked like some sort of stylized raven. "I've never seen it before. Well, it's definitely not Wiccan anyway. It doesn't really look like any black magic either." Leaning forward, he touched it, letting out a groan when he pulled his fingers away to see that they were now colored black as well. "Aw man, the paint is still wet. It had to have been that guy then. Hm, maybe Zexy will know what it is."

"Know what what is? And why are you in here?"

Demyx grinned when Zexion appeared in the doorway, quickly grabbing his boyfriend by the collar and pulling him over to the symbol on the wall. "What's this, Zexy?"

Zexion stared at the sign for a moment before shrugging. "I don't recognize it. If Namine copies it down though, I could see what some research comes up with."

Sora slid over next to Riku, smiling weakly as Riku ran a hand through his spikes. "Are you feeling alright, Sora? You look pale."

"I'm fine. We just had a bit of a scare up in the attic." Sora laughed a little. "I forgot what it was like to be around a ghost! Weird, right?"

"It's not so strange." Riku smiled, pulling Sora close. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for you but it seems like you were able to handle things fairly well on your own." He looked around at their group, catching Axel's gaze. "Is there any more that we need to do here?"

Axel shook his head. "Nah, I think we've spent enough time in this creepy place. And hey, if I remember right, we might owe you guys some food. Which by the way, I'm not paying for by myself. And you can't say anything about being broke, Demyx, because I know we got paid for that last band gig." Demyx sighed in defeat and Axel turned back to Riku, raising an eyebrow. "And let me guess, you're a big eater too, right?"

Riku shook his head. "Fortunately for you, I have a small appetite. But I can vouch that Sora and Roxas indeed could independently eat any man out of house and home."

Axel groaned, running a hand over his face. "Great. Okay, how about this? Everyone can come on over to my apartment and we can order pizza from there."

"Why don't we just go to a restaurant?" Zexion asked.

"One, because I hate having to pay extra for tip, and two, because if we're going to talk about ghosts and haunted asylums over dinner, I don't exactly want an audience listening in and thinking we're crazy. Leon, sir, you remember the way to my apartment, right?" Leon nodded and Axel clapped his hands together. "Excellent. We'll meet there then."


	3. Chapter 3: Apartments and Research

Whoa, sorry I took so long, dudes! Don't know what happened, it's probably just the start of summer classes that threw me off a little. Oh well, the new chapters up, so that's all that matters! Plus it's actually a decent length! Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers, auPHE, TMX Archives, ironyofalostkeyword, Tinker16, Amaya-Chan67, Elve Saranel, RubyRoseoftheBlackBlood, NightmareFairy, yumie-darkness123, Aindel S. Druida, Bingi, jynxer120, Misz Lovely x0x, vamprincessmiyu, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, -siarafaerie-101-miss, The Black Inferno Alchemist! You guys are awesome! And patient! I love you! :D

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Axel was waiting for the Strife family in the parking lot of his apartment complex. He had a wide grin on his face as he chivalrously opened up the back seat door. "Welcome to my humble abode. Well, for everyone except Leon. He already saw it when he dropped Auron off, so it's probably not so exciting for you."

Roxas took a good look around as he slid out of the car. The apartment complex looked…surprisingly normal. Axel was such a strange person that he expected something a little odd but the complex looked like any other he had seen in the city. There were small blocks of apartments, each with their own little concrete patio or balcony in front, depending if they were on the first or second floor. The paint was bright and cheery, and everything even looked fairly clean. The complex itself was even in one of the better neighborhoods, near to the college campus, which was understandable considering that Axel was just finishing up his senior year.

"Not too shabby, is it?"

Jumping, Roxas twisted around to see Axel right behind him. He immediately crossed his arms. "It's not bad, I guess. From the outside anyway."

"Oh, I see how this is going to go." Axel grinned, slinging an arm over Roxas's slim shoulders. "And I completely agree. You can't really date someone until you know what their living habits are like. Now come on, I'm up on the second floor." He led the way up the nearest flight of stairs, tapping on the apartment number plaque. "Apartment number 208. Got it memorized, Roxy?"

Roxas only rolled his eyes, nonetheless being the first to walk in as Axel threw open the door. It was a small apartment, having maybe two bedrooms tucked back in a short hallway off to the side. The rest of the apartment was an open floor plan, the kitchen merging into the living room. The thing that immediately caught Roxas's eye though was the giant screen TV nearly taking up the entire wall in his direct line of sight, the rest of the wall completely covered by shelves of DVDs and CDs. He heard Sora's exclamation of amazement before his older brother rushed past him to inspect the red-head's collection.

Beside the normal lived-in look though, the apartment was actually clean. Roxas had always imagined that Axel would be living like a hurricane had hit his house, everything thrown everywhere. Seeing the younger blond's expression of surprise, Axel smirked. "Please, have some faith in me Roxy. Is it so hard to believe I live in a decent apartment."

"A little."

"You wound me with your words." Sighing dramatically, Axel grabbed the phone, dropping down into one of the three chairs tucked around a small dining room table. "Ignoring them though, what does everyone else want on their pizza?"

After much discussion, an agreement was finally reached and they had placed their order. When their food had come and they were all eating, they gathered in the overstuffed couches in front of the TV. Leon raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of some of the DVD titles. "You certainly have a lot on ghosts. I never realized it was so important to you."

Axel chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Ya well, I guess I have bought pretty much every movie or series I could find about the supernatural. Plus Demyx just gave me his old collection of the old black and white horror movies, so that took care of that side of the wall. We watch them all the time through, right Dem?"

Nodding, Demyx grinned. "Some of them are really funny! A lot of the documentaries and TV series on ghosts and psychics are really good and we've learned a lot from them; well, whatever Auron hasn't taught us already." He shot a grin over in Auron's direction which the older man appeared to ignore. "Plus the drama's always awesome! We've been supernatural geeks since we met in high school, we only decided to use what we know to help people out with their own problems since we started college and actually got serious about the whole thing."

Sitting next to her brother, Namine couldn't help but giggle. "If you can call yourselves serious now…"

Demyx pouted. "We all get paid. That makes it a real job, we can't help if we love it. Besides, without humor, this line of work would just be too creepy."

"Speaking of creepy," Axel scooted forward to the edge of the couch. "Did we manage to catch anything from the asylum recordings?"

The room quieted down at the question, the memory of the night's work coming back and settling over them with an almost tangible weight. Shifting a little as all eyes fell on him, Zexion finally pulled his laptop out of his messenger bag he had brought up from the car. "You need to remember that we didn't think to set up visual recordings. It doesn't really matter considering all of the activity was on the third floor and we don't even have an extension cord which would reach that far anyway, but I did manage to load up the audio recordings onto my computer on the drive here." Turning the volume up, he spun the laptop around on his lap so that it was facing the larger group. "I haven't listened to it yet, so it might be nothing but white noise. But I did click on the one Axel's group took with them up to the attic, which is our best chance of hearing anything."

Sora scooted closer to Riku as Zexion pressed play, crackling static spilling out of the speakers, the noise eerie and echoing even in the small apartment. Riku wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, squeezing his arm as Axel's voice came over the speakers followed shortly by the others who had gone up to the attic. After a few minutes, there was silence again, signaling that Axel had put the recorder up on the dresser.

The static crackling suddenly increased, and as Zexion turned up the volume in order to try to pick through it, they all heard a noise that sounded like a small intake of breath followed by a small murmur.

Axel waved his hand, "Go back and try to isolate that from the static."

Nodding, Zexion spun the laptop back around toward himself, tapping on a few keys before speaking up. "Alright. I've done as best I can to muffle some of the background static. It will be fairly loud because I've had to raise the general volume up five-hundred percent but with it that high we should be able to make out any words if they're ever going to be understandable."

After rewinding a few seconds, he pressed play again. There was the gasp again, much louder this time and much more obviously a human-like sound. Then, a small voice, quiet and child-like came through, the words only just understandable through the hissing and crackling of the recording, "…where….where is everyone…" There was a small whimper. "I'm…all alone…where are they? Where are they?"

Roxas almost jumped as Sora's voice interrupted, his brother's voice loud and clear. "I see it! I might not be able to reach it though. Hm…if I open the lower drawer I could probably get it…"

They must have just decided to head back downstairs. Roxas flushed with embarrassment as his own voice came over the recording; luckily he had been too far away to be properly understood, but they clearly heard the name "Axel" among the disgruntled mutter. At least they hadn't heard his entire insult. He hadn't really meant it after all. There was a scraping noise as Sora fumbled for the recorder, his fingertips pushing the thing around on the wooden dresser top. "I almost have it. It's just a half an inch away…"

After that, there was shuffling as the recorder was passed to different hands, finally given over to Axel. "Hey there, you don't have to be afraid, we're not going to hurt you. My name's Axel, what's yours?"

"…Rose…"

"That's Roxas. He's a nice kid and you know what? He would really like to know what happened to everyone here. Could you tell us, darling? Did something bad happen to everyone?"

"Everyone's gone…my friends…" There was a shuddering breath, a sort of sobbing gasp, "My friends are gone…Where are they? The bird lady took them, she took them all...!" The ghost girl gasped again then suddenly let out a high pitched shriek, throwing everyone back as they had all leaned forward to try and decipher the static-filled mess.

Shaking his head to try and clear his ringing ears, Axel leaned forward to stop the play back. "And that's when that raven flew into the window. Obviously it had something to do with whatever woman somehow took the rest of the ghosts away." Pursing his lips, he tapped his fingers on his knee. "What did she mean when she said that the others were taken away though. Ghosts can be exorcised, and they can be destroyed, but I haven't heard anything about them being basically stolen."

He looked over at Auron but the older man only shook his head. "Neither have I, not as far as I can remember. Certainly not an entire army of spirits anyway. It seems like Zexion and I will have our work cut out for us in research."

Sora glanced up at Riku, having felt the other's arm tighten around him during the play back. He was surprised to see a frown on the young man's face, his expression sad. Leaning closer to him, Sora tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong, Riku?"

Turning to look down at him, Riku managed a small smile. "It's nothing…I suppose I can empathize with the poor girl a little…Whatever happened to her, to the others, sounds as if it was quite traumatizing."

Sora frowned, biting his lower lip before smiling a little. "Well, I think it's going to be okay. After all, we're here to find out what happened to them, right? And that's important. Plus we can find out who took them away, who knows, maybe we can even bring them back and then everything will be okay again!"

Chuckling weakly, Riku leaned his chin on the top of Sora's hair. "Your optimism never ceases to astound me."

"Well someone has to look on the bright side of things! I learned that a long time ago from having to live with Roxas. He's a real pessimist after all!" He grinned as Roxas, who was sitting on his other side, smacked his arm.

Having listened in to their conversation, Axel chimed in. "At least we know Rose is in the asylum still. I have a feeling she'll be okay until we're able to figure out what's going on." He stood up to stretch, his shirt riding up a bit as he lifted his arms above his head. "Now I'm not sure how long you Strifes want to stay but we're probably going to be listening to this recording a few more times. Can't say that it will be too exciting, so you're free to go if you want."

Cloud frowned, thinking back to the eerie recording. "You're okay with doing the rest on your own?"

Axel waved his hand dismissively. "We'll be fine. We've done this tons of times."

"That's right!" Demyx added. "And we'll just be listening to a recording. It's not like we're going to have to deal with any ghosts bursting into the apartment or anything-" He suddenly shrieked as the door to the apartment slammed open, jumping back almost onto Zexion's lap.

"Who the hell said you could have a part without inviting me, yo?"

Rolling his eyes, Axel put his hands on his hips. "For your information, this isn't a party. We're reviewing an investigation."

"You've got more than your normal buddies and you've got pizza. It's a party. A lame one, but it's still a party. And you know the house rules, last one to have a party does all the chores." Roxas stared as another red-head flopped down onto an open space on the floor and grabbed a slice of cold pizza from the open box. He was like Axel's clone, except slightly older, his longer hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. He even had tattoos under his eyes. After swallowing a large bite, the man motioned to them, "Gonna introduce me or what?"

"This is Leon, Cloud, Sora, Roxas, and Riku. All part of the Strife family. Guys, this is my brother, Reno."

Reno stared at Cloud for a moment then grinned. "Hey, I've met you before! You're a doctor at that one hospital. I got a glimpse of you in the ER area a few weeks ago, yo."

Cloud frowned thoughtfully before his eyes brightened and a smirk flashed across his lips. "And you were the crazy red-head with the fractured ribs who wouldn't sit still for the treatment. I heard the gossip about you from the nurses. I should have known that you were related to Axel."

Rolling his eyes, Axel huffed. "He's crazier than I am. He actually works as a body guard for the top executives of the Shinra Company. Comes home busted up all the time."

"At least I'm not a ghost-obsessed pyromaniac. What are you all doing here anyway?"

"I already told you, Reno. We just came back from a haunting." Smirking, Axel's hand went to Zexion's laptop. "Wanna hear the recording? It's pretty cool, we actually caught a voice."

"Hell no." Reno sprang up, "You know I can't handle that creepy shit. I'll be in my room watching TV if you need me. Nice meeting everyone and all that."

As Reno left the room, Axel chuckled. "Works every time. Now, you guys can head out if you want. We probably won't do anything else tonight anyway. Hopefully we'll be able to find out more information in about a week and get back to you."

Leon nodded and stood up, Cloud rising a second later. "Sounds good. We should get going anyway, it's," he glanced down at his wristwatch, raising an eyebrow when he saw the time, "it is officially midnight. The kids have school and we both have work. This was certainly an interesting evening though, it'll be interesting to see what you come up with."

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Roxas sighed, leaning over the table he had just finished wiping down. It had been a week since they had last heard from Axel or anyone else from the ghost hunting team. He hoped they were working hard, because otherwise he was going to give them an earful. Meanwhile though, life had gone on and Roxas now found himself at his after-school job. Luckily it was only part-time, three days a week for a few hours each, but still, he hated that working at a café meant that he actually had to talk to customers. At least he worked inside the café now. For the first week he had been used as a messenger-boy, his boss exploiting the fact that he knew how to ride a skateboard to try and get him to deliver everything as fast as possible.

Actually, looking back, he wasn't sure if he had had it so bad. He sighed staring down at the table.

"Roxas stop humming and help me out with the customers!"

Roxas snapped out of his thoughts as Olette tapped his shoulder, not even realizing that he had been humming in the first place. He was going to become as air-headed as Sora if he didn't watch out. "Roxas? Could you take the order for table three, please? My other tables are being a real pain and I don't think I could handle any more right now."

"Sure Olette. No problem." He had only agreed to work at the café in the first place because his friend Olette already worked there and had said that it was a good job. And she hadn't really lied. It was hectic at times, but the pay was good, and the hours were pretty reasonable. Stuffing the rag he had used to wipe down the table into his back pocket, Roxas straightened up and headed toward table three. He froze though when he saw the back of a familiar spiky red head sitting at it. "No way…" Marching over, he stood over the table, hands on his hips. "Are you stalking me now?"

Axel blinked, his green eyes wide before a grin slowly grew on his face. "Roxy! What are you doing here?"

"I work here, not that you didn't know that already."

Leaning back, Axel took in Roxas's uniform, the standard black pants and dress shirt. He smirked, "And here I thought you were just a little punk but you clean up pretty well. I wholly approve. You probably have no idea how adorable you look though, do you?"

Roxas's face lit up in a blush and he quickly fumbled for his pen and paper pad, trying to get to a more comfortable situation. Not that it was really uncomfortable for Axel to compliment him, it was just…weird. Shaking his head, Roxas cleared his throat. "Just shut up and order something."

"Fine, fine. Just get me whatever the special is. And coffee."

Frowning at the lack of some snarky comeback, Roxas took another look at the college student. Axel definitely looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes, their green color slightly dulled from lack of sleep and he was even slightly slumped forward over the table. Roxas frowned but held off his questioning until he had come back to the table with a cup of coffee, finally speaking up as he set it down. "Are you okay?"

"Aw, Roxy's worried about me."

"I'm not worried, you just look like shit."

"Ouch." Axel smirked, taking a sip of the coffee. "I suppose it's true though. Zexion's been running everyone ragged trying to figure out information. It's the worst part about working a new case. Never question Zexion's research ability, trust me, it'll only end in your pain. Dem finally managed to distract him for a few hours though so the rest of us could take a break. And it's almost time for us to go back."

Roxas tilted his head to the side then held up his hand. "Hold on a minute." Axel obeyed, and a moment later Roxas came back with Axel's meal balanced on one hand as well as a café-made sandwich for himself. Sliding into the chair across from Axel, Roxas watched as the older man dug into the plate. "Alright, I took a break. Now we can actually talk without me having to be worried about getting fired. So, did you manage to find anything out with all of this research?"

"We went to the library to look through the asylum records. We found them and it turns out that there was a girl named Rose who was sent there when she was five. Apparently she died in 1928 when she was ten from a nasty tuberculosis strain that got about twenty other people in the facility too. We did manage to do a total count of all the deaths and found that, including that episode, there were seventy-six who died. For all we know they could have all become spirits living there."

Roxas hummed, leaning his chin on his hand as he took a bite of his sandwich. "So, that's it?"

Axel pouted, "Hey, we do also have school you know. Besides, Zexion's going back to the library today. Lexaeus should be working this afternoon and together they're going to work on picking through information to find something out about that symbol." He leaned forward to rub his temple, "I've stared at that thing so many times it's pretty much engrained into my brain. Stupid raven, I'm so sick of it." He jumped as his cell phone suddenly rang out from his pocket. "Shit, I need sleep," he muttered as he flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

Watching as Axel talked, Roxas realized that he was actually enjoying spending one-on-one time with the older man. It was kind of nice, just sitting in the café. He came back to attention as Axel snapped his phone shut a moment later, a grin on his face.

"That was Zexion. He's at the library and apparently he just found something of interest, so that's my cue to leave." Pulling a twenty from his wallet, he placed it on the table with a wink. "Keep the change, Roxy. With any luck I'll see you tonight."

Flushing as Axel left through the front door, Roxas stood up, his blush nearly rising to his ears as he muttered under his breath. "Why does he always have to make everything sound so perverted?"

"Who was that Roxas? The two of you looked as if you know each other well."

Roxas growled a little at Olette's teasing tone, turning around to face the brunette. "His name's Axel."

"I don't know Roxas, he looks a little old for you."

"Olette! We're not dating, he's just a friend. A family friend. Barely even that, we only met two years ago." Seeing her sly smile, his eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare tell Hayner and Pence whatever it is you're thinking. They'd never let me hear the end of it. I already get enough at home from my parents and Sora."

"I always did wonder why you never were interested in dating, but now I know why! I wouldn't either if I had a hot 'friend' like that. The standard is probably too high for you."

"Olette!"

A few hours later and after countless amounts of playful teasing from Olette, the sun was setting and Roxas finally got off from work. Stepping out of the café, he unbuttoned the top two buttons on his dress shirt, breathing a sigh of relief as it made everything seem just a little more casual. The college campus was only about a block away, probably why Axel had visited the café in the first place, and Roxas would usually wait in the school's library until Sora and Riku's classes got out so that they could all drive home together. He was surprised then to see Cloud standing beside his motorcycle in the parking lot.

Smiling at his son's expression, Cloud tossed him a helmet. "Axel called the house and asked the family meet him at the city library. Riku and Sora are meeting us there and since I just happened to be passing by I thought I'd give you a ride."

Roxas grinned and jumped onto the motorcycle behind Cloud, wrapping his arms around his father's waist. He didn't care how old he got, he was never going to be too cool to turn down a ride on Fenrir. The ride, as expected, was terrifying and exhilarating with Cloud steering. Roxas counted about three times where there was a possibility of them dying, the only thing saving their skin was Cloud's excellent driving. Nevertheless, he could feel himself shaking a little as he dismounted even while he smiled up at Cloud. "Awesome ride as always."

Cloud grinned back, the expression wavering somewhat as he chuckled. "Good, but let's agree not to tell Leon about that red light, okay?"

"You mean the red light you completely sped through?"

"It was yellow when I got out in the intersection."

"You were going sixty miles an hour."

"Like I said, better to keep this one between the two of us."

Roxas nodded, a smile playing across his lips as he followed the other blond into the library. If he remembered right, the same woman had been sitting behind the desk two years ago when he and Sora had come in to find out some information on Riku. He rightly ignored the woman, taking the lead and heading down to the basement level, figuring that was where all the historical information was kept.

He knew he had made the right choice when he spotted Demyx and Namine bent over an open book that had been set out on one of the tables.

"Hey, glad you could make it!" Roxas twisted around to see Axel come out of a side room with Zexion and Lexaeus, the copier room if he was to guess from the stacks of photocopied papers in Axel's arms. "Where are ghost-boy and Sora?"

"Here!" Sora chirped as he bounded down the stairs, Riku following more gracefully behind him. "And Leon's right behind us, we saw him pulling into the parking lot as we came inside."

"Alright. Let's get started then." Turning to Zexion, Axel mimicked a dramatic bow. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Zexion rolled his eyes but stepped forward. "After…extensive research, we could only find a few examples of the symbol having ever been used." He began to pace in front of them as he spoke, obviously still figuring things out himself. "I was able to eliminate it from originating from all of the major religions, cults, and cultures, meaning that it's probably used by either only one small group, a family perhaps or something along those lines. Next, Lexaeus and I searched through books and online and found out this." He motioned back to the book and stack of papers, nudging Demyx to the side so that the others could examine the photograph on the open page. "You can see here that the symbol was found connected to some rather mysterious and unfortunate circumstances."

Roxas leaned forward to examine the image. It looked like a crime scene, like a picture Leon would bring home and try to not let them see. There were dead bodies on the floor in the foreground of what looked to be a residential setting, inspectors from the nineteenth century walking around and taking notes. What was immediately noticeable though was the symbol that had been gouged into the wallpaper. It was the same exact raven as the symbol from the asylum wall.

Frowning, Zexion spoke up again after a moment of silence. "This book is a record of some of the more troublesome unsolved crimes throughout the history of our local area. All seven of the children in this family were found dead when their parents returned home from an opera. What confused the authorities most was that they couldn't find a cause of death. There were no wounds, no traces of poison. It was almost as if they had simply just died a natural death. Though clearly it was anything but." Zexion sighed then looked up at Leon. "Actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to look into police files for me, to see if you can't find any more of these mysterious cases. They would probably be very similar, large numbers of people killed without any understandable causes."

Leon nodded. "I'll look into it."

"I'll look into the medical records at the hospital as well," Cloud added, "When I head back into work tomorrow. You can probably even come with me if you want, our older records aren't as safeguarded as those in the police station."

Roxas glanced over at Sora as Zexion agreed to go to Cloud's work. It seemed as if they were once again getting themselves into more trouble than they had first imagined.


	4. Chapter 4: New Faces and Names

So many reviews! Awesomeness dudes! You guys always have such interesting things to say, makes me think about my own plot, which is pretty cool. I think I've said that before during my last story, but I really do mean it. So there you go, I said it again. Thanks to all my reviewers, which there were so many of by the way, so cool :D, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Aindel S. Druida, Pawky, Tinker16, amenta bennu, fei8000000, CheenaSantiSprinkles, vamprincessmiyu, The Black Inferno Alchemist, Scootkadoot, taijiya-sango88, fireykaigurl, keitorin.24, yumie-darkness123, ramen-is-my-goddess, -siarafaerie-101-miss, Misz Lovely x0x, Amaya-Chan67, DemonicxTears, chibi heishi, Aly-Cooper, NightmareFairy, desertrose11, daisy.insane-angel, -IvyBlonde-, Ivy J., Keira-93, Naminelover9. Oh wow, so many names, you guys are so cool!

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Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned over his desk. He should have known what he was getting himself into when he said he would look into some old cases. Who would have guessed that there would be so many? Frowning, Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. Now he remembered why he never agreed to do favors, they were too much of a hassle.

"Hey, Sergeant Sour-Puss, what's wrong this time?"

Looking up, Leon scowled. "Not now Yuffie, I have a headache."

Yuffie grinned at the response, used to her boss's nature. Picking up a dusty police file from the tall stack, she shook her head, blowing off a thin layer of dust that had collected from long years in the back room. "This stuff is ancient! Why are you even looking at it? Cloud's going to be pissed if you're late, you know." Her grin widened as she set down the file to grab the photo of Cloud that Leon kept on his desk. "He's saying 'Get back home Leon and invite Yuffie over for dinner.' Hey, this is a pretty cute picture of him, how old was he?"

"Yuffie." Growling, Leon snatched the photo back, glancing at it fondly for a second before placing it back in its place next to another picture of the whole Strife family together. "It's when he was in grad school. And he knows I'm staying late tonight and no, you're not coming over for dinner. Now, did you finish filing all your paperwork for today?"

"Of course I did! Even though it was completely boring. I mean come on, a lost car, a noise violation from fraternity row, and a fight in a bar. Not a lot of excitement there. Although I did admit it did get a little exciting when we got to bring a suspect on an unrelated case in for questioning. It really helped the case along too, without him to give us some more names we wouldn't have had anything to go on."

Leon blinked up at her, something clicking in his head. If he treated this whole asylum thing like a case, then he would have already tried to see if they could identify their one suspect, the man that had tried to run him over, maybe link the man to other people he could then question. And if the man had committed any prior crimes, he would be in the department's computer database. With this thought in mind, he stood up; patting her shoulder before he brushed passed her. "Thanks for the idea, Yuffie. Now get back to work."

Yuffie tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms as she watched him walk away. "What'd I say?"

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"I don't know what's up with you Roxas, but if you don't stop zoning out and humming, you're going to get into trouble."

"I already told you, Olette, I have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously." Roxas sighed as the brunette sent him a pointed look. "I promise to try and stay focused next week. Happy?"

"You'd better." Olette shook her head. "I'll see you tomorrow at school though, okay?"

"Okay. See you later." Roxas stretched as he was once again released from his work, waving to Olette as she went to her car before heading off toward the college campus. Olette offered to drive him home once in a while but he always found himself declining. After all, they lived on opposite ends of the city and really, it wasn't much trouble to spend a few hours at the college campus library. It gave him the chance to force himself to get some homework done, since he was still carrying his backpack with him from when school got out. Either that or else he could just zone out on one of the computers.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Roxas began walking down the street, his eyes going up to the streetlight as it flickered out as he walked by. Stupid electricity. The way onto campus was ill-lit already; he didn't really like the idea of walking in complete darkness. But at least this part of the city was safe. Roxas shivered, hunching his shoulders a little. Just because it was supposedly safe wasn't making the walk any less creepy. The sense of eeriness was strange though. Usually he was able to suffer through the short trek without much trouble but the walks had been getting scarier for the past few days. He just thought it was due to the fact that winter was coming and that the streets were getting darker every day.

Biting his lip, Roxas freed one hand from his pocket to rub his temple. He was just being stupid, he shouldn't be feeling scared over a little walk. Slowing down for a deep breath to calm himself down, Roxas took the time to look around at the darkened shops around him. Despite the fact that it was a college city, businesses always closed down fairly early, making the street even more empty then they would have been.

He gasped as he suddenly saw something reflected in the nearest shop window. It looked like a young girl staring straight back at him, right where he would have been. He blinked rapidly, heat rising to his face when he took a second glance and realized that it was actually his own reflection.

He had just jumped at his own frickin' reflection.

And thought it was a girl.

"Wow…" he muttered, making a face at himself in the window. "I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that one. Or tell anyone else about it."

Swallowing, he continued on, feeling himself begin to bristle as the wind passed by his ear, the whistling breeze almost sounding like a voice. Twice he actually whipped around, thinking he had heard a person right behind him, a quiet voice hitting his ear. He couldn't really understand the individual words, it was just more of that annoying murmuring sound where you knew something was being said but couldn't figure out what it was. Twisting around a third time as it happened yet again, Roxas let out a muffled scream of frustration, clenching his fists and pulling into a faster march toward campus. It was really starting to creep him out, his whole body beginning to tense as an odd feeling washed over him.

By the time he made it onto campus, Roxas's nerves were nearly frazzled. Leaning against the wall of a classroom building, he took a moment to collect himself, scowling when he saw that his hands were shaking. Running them through his spiky hair, he took a deep breath, his breath involuntarily rushing out of him as if he had been punched in the stomach when he heard a flapping of wings, the same sound causing a shock of terror to hit him. His wide eyes snapped up toward the direction of the noise, his pounding heart settling somewhat when he saw that it was only a pigeon. He didn't even know what he had been expecting to see. Or where the fear had come from, it was as if it had just erupted from some corner of his conciousness.

"Roxas?"

Roxas started, almost falling over from how fast he turned around, blue eyes wide as he saw Zexion walking over to him. His mouth opened then closed, finding himself unable to speak.

Zexion frowned, adjusting his book bag as he noted Roxas's almost petrified state. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I got off, off work." Roxas swallowed, wetting his lips before trying again. Of course Zexion would be there, he went to the college too after all. "I always meet Sora and Riku at the library on work days. They drive me home."

Tilting his head to the side, Zexion was silent for a second, looking over Roxas almost curiously before nodding to himself. "Would you mind if I walked with you? I was just going to the library so that I could research a history paper anyway."

Roxas nodded immediately, walking beside the older man as they made their way through the campus. When he noticed that his hands were still shaking, he tucked them underneath his arms, huddling into himself and missing Zexion's eyes as the other glanced over at him again. That had most certainly been the worst walk ever. Maybe all that ghost stuff was beginning to make him paranoid, but the logical part of his mind doubted that. After all, he had managed to get plenty of sleep when his own house had been haunted and really, all that paranormal stuff didn't really scare him, unless it was on some unconscious level that not even he was aware of.

"-Roxas?"

Roxas blinked, looking over to Zexion. "Sorry, I wasn't really listening, what were you saying?"

Zexion raised an eyebrow. "I was asking how long you've been feeling a little off for."

"Oh." Roxas paused, cheeks reddening a bit as he realized he had been caught spacing out. "A while I guess, but, but never this bad. Not as bad as tonight I mean. Lately I apparently haven't been really been paying attention at work. I guess I've been living a bit more in my head, who knows, maybe it's genetics coming to turn me into Sora." He shuddered, trying to joke with a weak smile though his heart obviously wasn't into it. "That would be a pain worse then death." Roxas glanced over at Zexion, swallowing when he saw that the young man had a thoughtful, scheming expression. "Why?"

Zexion gave a careful shrug, obviously indicating that whatever he was thinking was going to stay inside his head, for the time being at least. Walking into the library, they headed to the spot where Roxas usually met Sora and Riku, into one of the little group study rooms. Some might consider it a little anti-social, but Roxas liked the personal space. Plus if he wanted to eat, he could do so without bothering the other people in the library.

Once they reached one of the small rooms, Roxas walked in and sat down at the large conference table, throwing his backpack up on the table beside him, watching as Zexion sat across from him. Tapping his fingers on the table, Roxas frowned before reaching into his backpack for his homework, trying to kill the lingering feeling of terror in his body. That really should have gone away by now because he was off of the streets after all. Annoyed with himself, he pulled out one of his notebooks and a pen before flipping open the notebook. His whole body was still completely tense, and he was just barely regaining the ability to regulate his breathing and keeping himself from breaking down into hyperventilation.

He glanced up at Zexion after a while, frowning curiously when he saw that the slate-haired man was impassively reading a book, the other's sharp eyes resolutely on the page. Roxas noted the title of the book; it sounded nothing like a history book, making Roxas wonder if Zexion had just been making up an excuse to come with him to the library. Frowning at this thought, Roxas leaned forward. "Zexion, you don't really have a history paper, do you?"

Zexion glanced up at him, marking his page before he set the book down. "No, I don't."

"Then why did you come with me?"

Zexion sighed, leaning his head on his hand before he asked. "Roxas, have you been feeling off since we went to the asylum?"

"Um," Roxas tapped his pen against his notebook, frowning as he felt his heart speed up in his chest. "Maybe. Why?"

"I'm not sure and I don't want to cause any unnecessary concern but I think you may have been affected by the trip there." Zexion paused, pursing his lips before speaking again. "It would be understandable. You were the first person to come in contact with any spirit activity that day."

"But Axel was the one who talked to the ghost."

"But she showed herself to you first." Zexion's brows furrowed, "Rose might feel more comfortable with your presence for whatever reason, you might remind her of someone in her past." His eyes widened suddenly, surprise and concern actually flashing across his face before he stood up, walking around the table and crouching in front of Roxas. "Roxas, I need you to stay focused."

Roxas's eyes widened when he felt wetness on his cheeks. Raising his hand, he wiped at his face, starting when he saw water on the back of his hand. He had begun crying without even realizing. All he knew is that he had felt a sharp pang when Zexion had mentioned that he might be like someone Rose knew. "What's, what's going on?"

"Zexion, what are you doing here?"

Both Zexion and Roxas looked up to see Sora and Riku coming toward them. When he saw his brother's tear-streaked face, Sora gasped and hurried over. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did something happen on the way here?"

Frowning, Zexion moved over to allow Sora some room. "Calm down Sora, we need Roxas to have control over his emotions." Zexion sighed, rubbing his brow before finally admitting to his thoughts. "I think he might be possessed. Most probably by Rose. It has been bothering me that she suddenly disappeared when the raven scared her off. I knew she flew right passed the two of you before vanishing, but she must have actually hid herself in what she believed was a safe place."

Sora's eyes widened, his thoughts going back to when Cloud had been possessed by Xemnas for only a few minutes. Cloud had nearly killed him during that short time, probably would have hurt him if Leon hadn't been there. "Possessed?" His voice shook a little as he grabbed onto Roxas's hand, frowning worriedly as Roxas almost twitched out of his hold. Roxas frowned at the reaction himself, his entire body feeling as if it was spinning out of his control. But like hell was he going to let himself be possessed by a ghost. "What are we going to do?"

Crouching down behind his boyfriend, Riku tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "I don't know if we need to have the same concerns. I know what you're thinking Sor, but Rose is quite different than Xemnas. She probably is not so dangerous, certainly not as blood-thirsty."

Zexion nodded. "Riku's right. There are ghosts like Xemnas who possess only momentarily, or for a short while, and their goals are always evil. Then there are others, like Rose perhaps, who might not have bad intentions. The fact that she has been residing in Roxas dormant for so many days without incident probably means that she won't cause any trouble. I doubt there is anything I can do here."

Sora frowned, squeezing his brother's hand before noticing that Roxas had closed his eyes, his little brother's forehead furrowed as if he was fighting back a migraine. "Roxas? Are you okay?" Sora gasped as Roxas suddenly jerked forward, catching the other's shoulders before Roxas tumbled forward off his chair. "Roxas?!"

Tisking, Zexion stood up, motioning Riku forward. "Riku, please help Sora to keep Roxas sitting up." Riku nodded, gently taking a shoulder and leaning Roxas's back against the back of the chair as Sora twisted down to try and see Roxas's face, the younger's head lolling loosely against his chest. Reaching into his bag, Zexion continued. "Rose is fighting her way to the surface. Talking about her must have roused her."

After a pause, he pulled a small wooden cross from his bag, pressing it tentatively to the top of Roxas's head and murmuring a quick prayer. His eyes showed no surprise though when nothing at all happened and after a minute he slipped the cross back into his bag, his eyes locked on Roxas's limp body.

They all froze as Roxas's head suddenly swung up, his blue eyes wide but strange, his whole expression showing more fear than Roxas would have ever shown on his own right and making him look years younger. His bottom lip trembled before he shook his head wildly. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" His voice rose to a nearly hysteric volume, his voice more high pitched than his normal, cynical mutters as new tears ran down his face. "I was scared. I couldn't stay there, she would have found me. I'm so sorry! I just can't go back!"

Panicking at hearing his brother in such a state, even if it really wasn't Roxas speaking, Sora waved his arms. "Ah, no, it's okay. Don't cry! Please don't cry Roxas, no one's mad at you!"

Frowning, Riku knelt down in front of Roxas, lifting the boy's chin, his voice low and calming. "Rose, no one's mad. We understand that you're scared. You undoubtedly have good reason to be. Now, take a big breath and stop your crying, you're worrying Sora." Roxas sniffed, teary as he glanced over at Sora, his lip still trembling as Riku smiled warmly. "There now, that's much better. Your name is Rose, right?" Roxas nodded. "My name is Riku, and these are my friends, Sora and Zexion."

Roxas eyed Zexion warily before looking over at Sora, his whole body visibly relaxing. Sora really couldn't blame him, at first glance Zexion did look pretty intimidating, even though he was short. It even took Sora himself to realize that underneath that cold exterior was a nice young man who liked to help people. As long as his computers didn't come into jeopardy. Plus Demyx found something to love in him, so he couldn't be as emotionless as he displayed himself to be.

Sora smiled as Roxas's blue eyes fell on him, waving as his younger brother shyly returned the gesture. "Hi!" His smile weakened a little as his arm dropped, his voice quieter as he directed a question over to Riku. "How do we get Roxas back?"

Zexion frowned, thinking to himself for a moment before he spoke up quietly. "We could draw the girl out by her own will. She doesn't seem to like me much, perhaps one of you could talk to her. Meanwhile I'll try and call Axel to see if he can't help us out."

Riku nodded, running a hand through his silver hair before he looked at Roxas again. The teen looked back at him curiously from his chair, his blue eyes still wide yet blank. They lacked that defiant spark, that sign of life. Putting on another warm smile for the sake of keeping Rose calm and secure, Riku spoke up again. "Rose, I would love to talk to you in person. You probably don't like being stuck in a boy's body anyway, and I would love to see what you look like outside of Roxas. Would you mind coming out?"

Roxas shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself, almost pouting. "No! I won't come out until the bird lady goes away! I hid but she'll find me and get me if I leave! She got all the others, even the older mean ones and they were strong! You're mean if you want me to come out! I don't want to talk to you anymore either."

Roxas fell into a stubborn silence as Zexion walked back over from the corner of the small room from where he had used his cell phone. "I called Axel. He's coming over now and we should probably wait to move out of the room until then." He put a hand on his hip as he examined Roxas. "We don't want to cause too much of a scene leaving the building so it will be easier to have another person just in case."

Tilting his head to the side, his eyes on his brother, Sora asked warily, "Zexion, can't you exorcise her out of him?" He had never seen his brother so…childish, not even when they were children. It was kind of disconcerting. Actually, it was kind of funny, in a really creepy sort of way.

Zexion shook his head. "No. You saw for yourself that a prayer was nearly completely ineffective. My skills are only with exorcising demons, or creatures that have only evil inside them. I'm not quite sure how to deal with a non-violent ghost like Rose. Demyx or Namine or even Axel might have some better ideas."

Frowning, Sora scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for Axel to get here."

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Sighing, Leon dropped back down into his chair, spinning around to lay a new folder out onto his desk. After spending over an hour on the department's computer, he had finally found a handful of registered criminals he had thought would match what he remembered. From those, he had narrowed it down to one after looking through more detailed photos in their folders. It had been a long shot, but he might just have been able to find the man who had been in the asylum with them that night.

Flipping open the chosen file, he glanced curiously over the front page. The folder itself was one of the thinner ones, meaning that he was only a petty criminal or had only been arrested for one offense so far. His name was Pete. 39 years old. 287 pounds. Medium height. One previous offense only two weeks ago, attempting, but failing, to rob a liquor store. Leon frowned, shifting in his seat as he looked at the mug shots. This guy seemed like a complete idiot. Even without knowing any more, Leon knew that this Pete had to have been working for someone else that night. He had obviously been following some sort of direction, and Leon doubted this man could have thought everything out on his own.

With more energy, Leon flipped through the first few pages and spotted a transcript of the interview typed up after they brought Pete back to the station. Leaning his chin onto his hand, he skimmed the page. There was the normal first denial that criminals always tried, then the pauses and stutters, the point where he started blaming the store owner for a false accusation. But then, a few paragraphs down, there was an oddity. Pete had finally admitted his guilt but then had said 'Oh no, Maleficent won't like this one bit, now I've got my name in the system! She's gonna skin my hide!'

Maleficent. No marks had been made by other officers around it, meaning that everyone else had probably just passed over it. But Leon didn't, and in his mind immediately connected it to the supernatural events that had occurred in the asylum. Eyes narrowing, Leon grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote the name down as well as the name Pete. Maleficent certainly was a strange name, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the one they were looking for. Hopefully with a name they'd be able to figure out more information.

His attention was dragged up from the file at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He glanced at the ID and seeing it that it was Cloud immediately reached for the phone and flipped it open. "Hey."

_"Hey, Leon. Sora just gave me a call and we might have a slight problem."_

Leon frowned. The last time Cloud had admitted to having a 'slight problem' over the phone was when Sora had very nearly caught their entire kitchen on fire back in the apartment. Feeling trepidation in his stomach, Leon reluctantly continued. "What kind of problem?"

_"The boys are going to be a little late coming home. Apparently they're stuck in the school library until Axel arrives."_

"Should I ask why?"

_"Roxas is playing host to that ghost girl that disappeared from us in the asylum. Sora says he's now fully possessed."_ Cloud sighed, _"He's not dangerous but he's currently acting like a ten-year-old girl."_

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Leon still couldn't help but smirk at the image. "It's just going to be one of those days, right? Okay, I'll be home as soon as I can. I just have to pack up and leave."

_"Thanks. See you then."_

Hanging up, Leon immediately began to collect his things, sorting them into piles for the next day. He put Pete's folder on top of the stack then reached for the scrap of paper. He suddenly froze when he looked down at it though, a cold chill shooting down his spine.

In the place of the name he had written down there was now only a black gash across the paper, as if someone had struck at it violently with permanent ink. Picking the scrap up, he noted that the black mark had gone through the paper and onto the desk, almost as if to make sure that the name would never be legible again. Scowling, Leon grabbed the file and opened it again, cursing when he saw that the entire line that had contained the name was also blacked out, all the pages in the folder stained by the black mark.

Setting the folder down, Leon braced himself on the desk. Whoever this woman was, she was obviously a strong force to reckon with. But if she thought that blocking out her name would save her from scrutiny, then she was wrong. Maleficent. Leon would remember that name.

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	5. Chapter 5: Possessions and Arrests

Chapter 5

Hmm, a took a while doing this one too, but it's decently long, so I don't feel too bad for all of you dudes. ;) Bwa ha ha, I couldn't help but make Roxas possessed, it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. But don't worry, I won't make him suffer…too much… And wow, I'm about to hit 100 reviews! That's pretty awesome, seriously, you guys are really making my day with your comments. Yay, readers! And thanks to everyone who reviewed for my last chapter; auPHE, ramen-is-my-goddess, Tinker16, Misz Lovely x0x, Nierx, Keira-93, Amaya-Chan67, vamprincessmiyu, CheenaSantiSprinkles, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, St. Mayhew, NightmareFairy (fanfiction cut off my review reply, I swear I was gonna write more TT), , -IvyBlonde-, thewriterwannabe, yumie-darkness123, Ivy J., Aly-Cooper, Scootkadoot, Bingi, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Aindel S. Druida, Poet Bucky, Mare Dragon, Colonel Roxas-chan, LadyLunarPhoenix, xBlackxAngelsx, The Black Inferno Alchemist.

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It had been about fifteen minutes since Zexion had called Axel and Roxas's condition still hadn't changed. Well, it had in that now the only person in the room Rose wasn't mad at was Sora. And, being the petulant and lonely child that she was, Rose had immediately demanded that Sora play with her. The best Sora had been able to come up with was grabbing Roxas's binder and pen so that they could draw doodles together.

Sora glanced over at his little brother as Roxas happily scribbled on his piece of paper. The blond teen's grip on the pen was weak, almost shaky, and his drawings were little more than random squiggles though he seemed pleased enough with them. He was kicking his feet underneath the table as he hummed some nonsense song to himself. The most eerie part were his eyes; they were still wide and blank and although he was staring down at the paper, his eyes were emotionless. Sighing, Sora leaned over to him, trying to put on a smile. "Hey, Rose, what're you drawing?"

Roxas blinked then looked up at his brother with a wide grin, "It's the tree I can see from my room! Do you like it?"

Sora tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out exactly where the tree was in the black scribbles. Finally he gave up but nodded anyway. "Of course! It's really nice, Rose. A really pretty tree." Biting his lip, he looked back at Riku, who was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. Riku could only shrug, straightening up when the door to their study room cracked open, Axel poking his head in.

"Hey," His voice was soft, showing that he was well aware of the situation inside. "How are things going?"

Zexion sighed. "As well as they can. It might help if you talk to him but in either case, we should get him home."

Axel nodded, a smile breaking across his face when he spotted Roxas. Sauntering in, he walked over to the teen, crouching down beside him. Tilting his head down so that he could see Roxas's face, his smile softened. "Hey there, Rose. Remember me? We talked a while ago."

Roxas looked up at him, staring at Axel for a moment before looking back down. "You're Axel." There was a moment of silence before he suddenly pushed a piece of paper to him, his eyes always on his own. "Draw with me and Sora."

Raising an eyebrow, Axel picked up the paper. "Hey, Rose. If you like to draw, Sora has a really huge collection of art supplies at his house. We can all go there and draw together, maybe play other games too. I mean," he chuckled, "how fun can a library really be, right?"

Thinking the proposition over for a moment, Roxas finally nodded. Axel's grin widened and he pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket. "Hey darling, before we leave, can you hold up your lovely picture so I can take a photo?"

Zexion rolled his eyes as Axel snapped a picture after Roxas had complied with his request, the teen even offering a childish smile. "I would say you have issues, but you already know that."

Grinning nearly giddily, Axel shoved the phone back into his pocket, his quiet attitude dropping as soon as Roxas had been distracted by Sora. "Oh man, the situation was just too good to pass up. This is so damn hilarious. And that picture is definitely going to be my new wallpaper. So cute."

"You really are a pedophile."

"Hey, I didn't say sexy, I said cute."

Sighing, Zexion turned his gaze over to Roxas, his voice lowering. "What do you think though? My prayer didn't have any affect. Rose has dug herself in deep."

The grin on Axel's face sobered somewhat as he looked over at Roxas. The possessed teen was at the moment trying to get Sora to give him a piggy back ride, Riku looking on with some trepidation due to the fact that the brothers were about the same size and Sora probably couldn't handle the weight. Running a hand through his red hair, Axel tilted his head to the side. "I don't know what to think at this point. Possessions get complicated so easily, you know? If things don't get better soon, meaning, if she doesn't decide to let Roxas go on her own free will, we're either going to have to see if Namine or Demyx have any sort of solution or else find a Catholic priest. Still got connections, Zexy?"

"A few, probably. Though I think a full exorcism would be too harsh for the little girl."

Axel nodded, looking down when he felt a tug on his sleeve to find Roxas, or rather, Rose, staring up at him. The blond pouted. "I want to color my picture now. When are we going?"

"Now if you want."

Roxas threw Axel off momentarily as he suddenly smiled brightly, "Sora couldn't carry me because he's small like me, but you can!"

Blinking, Axel suddenly found himself with his arms full of Roxas, almost tumbling forward after the teen had jumped up onto him, catching himself just before his legs buckled. "Shit! Rox –I mean, Rose, you can't just jump someone!" His voice quickly softened as he saw Roxas's eyes widen, really not wanting to rile the ghost up. "I'm not mad at you. Just give a little warning next time, okay?"

"Okay!" Roxas chirped, throwing his arms around Axel's neck. Shifting the teen's weight in his arms, Axel sent a glance over to Zexion, who only smirked and shrugged. Axel let out a low sigh and looked down at Roxas when he realized he was going to get no help from his friend. Roxas was gazing expectantly up at him. Apparently Rose had no idea how heavy Roxas was. Or else she didn't care. That was also an option.

Sighing again, Axel adjusted Roxas's weight once more. "Alright, I guess we're going then. Anyone got a car?"

"You don't?" Sora asked.

"I've got one, just not on me. Usually I just finish my shift at my campus job then take the bus home."

"Well lucky for you I finally have my license then! Just got it last week!" Grinning, Sora pulled out his car keys, twirling them around his finger.

Riku shook his head, leaning down and murmuring in Sora's ear. "You can't drive him yet, you still have restrictions, remember? The only reason you're driving me and Roxas is because of Leon's note."

Sora's face fell but Axel, having caught the quiet murmur, shook his head. "It's alright, kid. Zexy'll be more than happy to give me a lift to your house. Won't you, Zexion?"

"I suppose I'll have to."

Twenty minutes later, Sora and Zexion's cars pulled up in front of the Strife home. Axel grimaced, looking questioningly at the car door and wondering how he was going to open it. During the trip, Roxas had refused to let go of him, or get off his lap. Axel would have considered it the perfect opportunity except for the fact that the teen was possessed by a ten year old girl, and wouldn't stop giggling or pointing to random things outside the window. Was it cute? Yes, certainly. But it wasn't a turn-on. And although he could act nice and child-friendly if he needed to, Axel was already getting tired of baby-sitting. Luckily Roxas had fallen asleep a few minutes ago, the quiet appreciated by both men in the car. Which led up to the question of how he was going to get out of the car with a slumbering Roxas in his arms.

His problem was solved when Zexion walked around the front and opened his door for him, helping Axel out of the car with a long-suffering sigh. Nodding his thanks, Axel walked as fast as he could over to the front door. It wouldn't be good if he accidentally dropped Roxas. He and Zexion followed Sora into the house, Riku bringing up the rear. There was a light on in the kitchen, indicating that one of their parents was home and rummaging around for dinner.

Sora immediately darted toward the kitchen, calling out cheerfully. "We're home! And we brought Axel and Zexion!"

Cloud's blond brows furrowed with slight confusion as he stepped halfway out of the kitchen to greet Sora, his eyes moving up to their apparent guests. "Axel and Zexio–why is Roxas unconscious?

Chuckling dryly, Axel headed for the stairs. "Apparently possession takes a lot out of you, but he just needs some time to sleep right now. Zexion, you can start explaining while I put Rose up for a nap."

Waiting for a moment for Zexion to nod, Axel went upstairs, Riku following him up to Roxas's room. The room looked basically the same as Axel had last seen it two years ago. Unfortunately, he hadn't been back since then. He had almost been surprised when they had gotten that first call from Leon about the asylum. Axel had thought that the Strifes had moved on with their lives. He had expected it really; clients usually wanted nothing to do with the supernatural world once their initial problems were solved, no matter how friendly they seemed during the investigation. But now here he was, back in Roxas's room. Maybe, secretly, he was even relieved that Leon had gone to that asylum and had gotten attacked by ghosts. It at least gave him another chance.

Lying Roxas down onto the bed, Axel fondly brushed a few strands of the teen's blond hair out of his face, straightening up when he felt Riku's presence at the doorway. Now that they were inside the house, the young man seemed to have a near tangible aura. Even Axel could tell, without psychic powers, that Riku was more relaxed, his supernatural ties to the house practically obvious.

Riku leaned against the doorframe as he pulled out his hair tie, his sea-green eyes gazing curiously at Roxas. "It's strange. The very moment he was brought into the house I was able to sense Rose's presence. From what I can feel, she seems quite obstinate and from what I know as a ghost, when you've taken possession of someone, you feel nearly unbeatable. I doubt she is going to be easily removed."

Axel nodded. "You're right. It's going to be hard to force her out, and we don't want to resort to violent methods, which is why it might be a good idea to try and get her out on her own free will. Somehow." Running a hand through his hair, Axel paused for a second then smirked at Riku. "Hold on, don't tell me you've possessed people?"

Riku smirked back, lifting his chin. "I was a ghost for more than a hundred years. Do you think I just sat around for that entire time?"

"Even with Xemnas being a tyrant?"

Shrugging, Riku turned to leave the room, motioning for Axel to follow. "We should let Roxas rest in peace. But yes, even with Xemnas here. Oftentimes he left me alone if I helped to scare off the new owners of the house. He liked solitude you see, and new inhabitants were always so noisy."

Axel smirked as he gave Riku a sideways glance. "So why was it different with Sora?"

"Honestly, I asked myself that same question at first." Riku frowned thoughtfully, "He was just…different from the rest. For some reason I knew he would have the potential to help me." The frown turned into a sly smile. "Plus he had been the most endearing person I'd met in a very long time. I would ask why you are so insistent with Roxas but I think the answers would be more similar to mine than not."

Axel frowned, allowing Riku to take the lead as he glance back at the bedroom. After a moment though, he sighed and shook his head and headed back downstairs. He would save philosophizing about his affection for another day, when not so many things had happened.

By the time the two of them had gotten back downstairs, Cloud had already been filled in on the entirety of the situation and had learned that Roxas was only sleeping at this point. When Riku and Axel entered the kitchen, Cloud clapped his hands together. "Well, since Roxas is asleep, why don't you and Zexion stay for dinner? Leon should be home literally any second."

Zexion opened his mouth to politely reject the offer but before he could put in a word, Axel had slung and arm over his shoulder and spoke up for the both of them. "We'd love to! And I for one can't wait to try some of your excellent cooking."

"As flattering as that is, I'm just heating up some take-and-bake pizza."

Axel grinned. "Even better!"

Leon came home when food was just being put onto the table. He didn't look so surprised to see Axel and Zexion but it was hard to tell considering he looked like he was about to fall asleep at the table. Smiling sympathetically, Cloud reached over and ran his hand along his husband's arm. "Tough day at work?"

Leon sighed. "Not so much work. I spent half of my time searching through old files for connections to what's going on at the asylum." His eyes lifted to Zexion's. "Have you ever heard of someone named Maleficent?"

Zexion paused, setting his slice of pizza down. "Maleficent? The name sounds familiar. I must have read it somewhere." Frowning, he looked down at his plate. "How annoying, I can't remember from what context. It must have been in one of the books I read in the last few weeks."

Raising an eyebrow, Axel turned to face his scholarly friend. "You've read like thirty books only in the last week. Your apartment is still piled up with them."

"I'll have to look through them again. Maybe the name will be in the index."

Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I found the name through an interview of a man named Pete, who I'm ninety percent sure was the man who tried to run me over in the asylum . The last thing I did at the station was to put out a bulletin for his arrest. Hopefully he'll be picked up in the next few days and we can question him about this whole thing. By the way, how is Roxas?"

"Asleep," Axel murmured, "I put him up in his room. He'll probably be out for a while."

"Or not." Frowning, Cloud pointed over Axel and Leon's shoulders toward the stairs. "He woke up."

Twisting around, Axel saw that indeed, Roxas was standing at the foot of the stairs, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Pursing his lips, he tried to gauge the teen's personality quickly. Was Rose still in control? And if she was, what would their next plan of action be? A person could only be aggressively possessed for so long for one period of time before feeling negative mental and physical effects. Forcing a smile, Axel spoke up. "Hey there darling, how are you feeling?"

Dropping his hand, Roxas scowled. "Who the hell said you could call me that?"

Sora grinned, popping up from the table and running over to tackle his little brother in a hug. "Yay! You're back to normal!"

Still frowning, Roxas tried to wiggle out of Sora's grasp. "What are you talking about? How'd we get home from the library? I did make it to the library, right?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Axel asked.

Tilting his head to the side, Roxas tried to think back. "I remember leaving my job, walking to campus. It was weird, kind of creepy. And I kind of remember running into Zexion…then, he said something about me being possessed…?" His voice trailed off and his eyes widened before he stilled completely, his face paling. "I'm possessed, aren't I?"

Frowning, Sora gave his brother a comforting squeeze. Twisting his body around in his chair, Axel leaned his arms and chin on the chair back. Grinning to lighten the situation, he tapped his temple. "Yep. You've got a little girl ghost trapped in your head, who, I might add, is a little bossy and easily prone to temper tantrums."

Roxas flushed, his face turning red almost up to his ears. He can't believe he had actually let himself get possessed by a little girl. So embarrassing. He would have half thought that Axel was just messing with him but the look on everyone's faces told him otherwise. Crap.

"I have to admit though, you were pretty adorable when Rose wanted me to carry you around."

Roxas thought all the blood in his body must have gone up to his face. He couldn't even remember what had happened! For all he knew, he really could have had Axel carry him. His mind flashed to a possible mental image and he quickly shook his head, his stomach doing a strange flip-flop. Biting his lip, he shook his head again. "Um, I'm going back upstairs."

"Do you want anything to eat?" Cloud asked.

"No, I'm fine. I ate a late snack at the café."

Cloud nodded, everyone watching as Roxas went back upstairs before Zexion stood up, his quiet voice firm. "Now that we know Roxas is back into his own mind, we can leave without having to worry tonight."

"But what if Rose takes over again?" Sora asked.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid you might have to take care of it yourselves. Call us of course, but we probably wouldn't be able to do anything for him other than just to watch over him. In the mean time though, we should let you get your rest, we've all had long days and now that I have a name I can begin to look for it."

Leon nodded and stood up, walking Zexion to the door, Axel trudging after them.

After Axel and Zexion had left, Leon had basically told Sora and Riku to go to bed. Changing into his pajama shorts, Sora sat on the edge of the bed as Riku came into their room from the bathroom. They had been sharing a room for three months now, basically since Sora turned eighteen. Seeing his boyfriend's worried face, Riku frowned, leaning down to kiss Sora's forehead. "What's bothering you? Is it Roxas?"

Sora nodded weakly, sighing happily despite his concern as Riku wrapped his arms around him. "Yes, I just, do you think I should sleep in his room tonight? What if Rose takes over and wants to go outside? Or what if she accidentally does something to hurt him? Roxas couldn't stop whatever happens…"

"If you're concerned, you should ask if he wants company."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Why would I mind?" Smiling, Riku nuzzled his nose against Sora's neck, drawing a giggle from his boyfriend as he blew a small burst of air. "I could never be angry about you wanting to help your brother. Now you should hurry if you want to catch him while he is awake."

Sora nodded, kissing Riku on the cheek before slipping out into the hallway. Riku had just slid underneath their sheets when Sora came back into the room, his stance defeated. "Roxas was awake, but he didn't want me to stay with him." Sora sighed, crossing his arms and pouting, "Typically stubborn, but now what am I going to do?"

Riku lifted the sheets, "You can come to bed. If Roxas thinks he can handle the situation, we should give him the chance."

Still pouting, Sora nonetheless got into bed, curling up against Riku's body. Although Riku was slightly cold to the touch, just having another body beside him was comforting enough, and Sora moved closer. "But Riku, Roxas can't help himself if he's possessed again, he won't even know what's happening."

"You don't have to worry, Sora." Riku smiled softly, lifting himself up onto his elbow and leaning down to press a kiss to the tip of his boyfriend's nose. "Remember, I can feel everything that goes on in this house while I'm inside it." He closed his eyes, his voice slightly disconnected as he mentally searched the property. "For instance," he kissed Sora's chin, "I know Leon and Cloud are inside their room, Cloud's standing at the window, Leon's by the dresser." Smiling, he finally kissed Sora's lips, taking a moment before pulling away. "And Roxas is still in his bed, safe and sound. So relax, I'll make sure he doesn't move from his room."

Blushing and slightly dazed, Sora nodded. "A-Alright. Are you sure you'll know?"

"I'll know. But now we should get some sleep. We'll most likely need our strength for tomorrow."

Nodding again, Sora sighed happily as Riku lay back down. Wrapping his arms around the smaller man, Riku pulled Sora's back to his chest and settled his chin on Sora's shoulder, the two of them quickly falling asleep.

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Two days had passed since Rose had taken full possession and thankfully so far the ghost girl had not felt the need to show herself a second time. Leon and Cloud were trying hard to keep things normal, though one of them was always at home whenever Roxas was and Axel had shown up for the last two days at his work. Not that Axel seemed to mind, he actually appeared to enjoy hanging out in the corner of the café, much to Roxas's chagrin. But there had been no episodes so far, and so life was moving on.

Which was how Leon found himself once again at work, adjusting his tie on his uniform as he looked down at Pete from the one way window of the interview room. "So where'd you find him?"

Yuffie grinned. "Cid picked him up from a hotel in the Market District! He grumbled something about you owing him one before going back to his office."

Leon snorted; no doubt the scruffy Captain hadn't been gentle with Pete. Not that he minded. Having a suspect already on edge was good for questioning in his opinion. "I'll buy him some cigars or something, now, are you coming in or not?"

"Nah, I'll watch from out here, it's more fun that way."

Nodding, Leon adopted a frown onto his face before bursting through the interview room door, startling Pete nearly out of his too-small chair. Stalking forward, Leon walked over to the opposite side of the table, throwing down a file. "You're Pete?"

The hefty man nodded, his strong jaw wobbling a little as he scratched his short black hair. "Ya, that's me. What am I here for, I haven't done nothing wrong since that botched robbery!"

Raising an eyebrow, Leon peered down at the man. "You're here on charges of trespassing and assault with intent to resist arrest. You may remember nearly running me over at the asylum not too long ago?"

Pete paled, his handcuffs rattling as he raised his arms to animatedly defend himself. "That was you? But I didn't mean to hurt nobody! I was just trying to get out of that creepy place as quick as I could! No one told me there were going to be people inside, it was supposed to be an easy job."

"Who are you working for?"

"I can't tell you that, they'd have my head if I told you anything!"

Seeing that Pete seemed more frightened of his employer than his charges, Leon took a seat in the provided chair, taking a less aggressive path as he decided to use the only lead he had. "You may not have to say anything. Just nod if you want if you're working for someone named Maleficent."

Pete paled further, nearly reeling back and falling out of his chair. "H-How did you know that? Oh no, she's gonna kill me for sure if she finds out about this!"

"Just tell me what you know about her and we can let you go free. She doesn't even have to know you were here."

Pete shook his head. "If I squeal, she's gonna find out, I'd be safer if you just took me to prison." His eyes suddenly brightened and he stood up, grinning widely, "I know, if you put me in jail, I'll tell you everything I know!"

Frowning, Leon leaned back, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out when the interview had switched gears. "You…want to go to jail?"

"It's the only place she can't get me, she already knows where I live! She said that if I ever got into prison, she wouldn't ever bother getting me out, so as long as you don't tell her that I said anything, I'll tell you what I can."

"Let's start then." Leon pulled out a notebook to write down notes even though their interview was being recorded. He wanted to be able to glance back at everything at will. "What does Maleficent have you do for her?"

"Not much, nothing exciting anyway. I run errands for her when she asks, pick up supplies, drive by places to check them out, go into places after she tells me and put that weird sign on the walls with paint. Nothing really bad."

"Why does she tell you to drive by places?"

"I don't know. She goes there later I think, but so far the places have all been really old buildings, like that nut house. All of them are empty, but they give you a really creepy feeling, you know? I think she goes there at night or something, but it's not my job to keep track of where she goes, she's the one who always contacts me. I really don't know much else, you've got to believe me."

Leon frowned then leaned back in his chair, "Alright. You are under arrest, to be held for trespassing and assault with intent to resist arrest. If you're smart, you'll continue to answer any questions we may have about your employer or what you may have done for her. If you give us your full cooperation, perhaps we can discuss having charges dropped." Leon nodded at the one-way mirror and Yuffie quickly came. As Pete was read his rights by the petite woman, Leon pursed his lips. Hopefully they were now one step closer to figure out how to get Roxas back to normal.

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	6. Chapter 6: Reanimation

Chapter 6

Hey, reading dudes! Let's see, um, do I have any announcements today? Oh ya…I'm updating this a little later than usual because I'm going to be gone for the next week and a half. So I tried to kind of space this out so you hopefully won't feel like there's too much more time than usual until the next update. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers: Poet Bucky, auPHE, ramen-is-my-goddess, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, DemonicxTears, Aindel S. Druida, Tinker16, -IvyBlonde-, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 8..., Bingi, CheenaSantiSprinkles, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, yumie-darkness123, Scootkadoot, thewriterwannabe, Cassie-san, TeamEdwardvsTeamJacob, Aly-Cooper, Ivy J., xBlackxAngelsx, Ladylunarphoenix, Mare Dragon!

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A few more days had passed since Roxas had been fully possessed. In the apartment Demyx, Namine, and Zexion shared, things were quiet, more so than usual. Most days there would at least be soft music coming from somewhere, either from Demyx's guitar or from his stereo. Pressing his ear to Zexion's closed door, or rather, the door to their computer room and study, Demyx let out a squeak of surprise as a hand fell on his shoulder. Spinning around, he smiled lightly when he saw Namine looking up at him curiously. "Hasn't he come out yet?"

Frowning, Demyx shook his head. "No, well, not except for eating and going to the bathroom, and coming to bed, but even then he just literally falls right asleep." He sighed, looking at the door wistfully, "When's he gonna come out?"

"Obviously it's time for an intervention." Namine smiled as she put her hands on her hips, "Why don't you go in and drag him away from his books while I go and make some tea?"

"Alright, thanks, Nami." Namine nodded then headed for the kitchen, leaving Demyx to face the trials of trying to break Zexion away from his pages of text. Luckily, Demyx had always seemed to have a knack for it so with any luck, he would again be victorious. Cracking the door open, Demyx poked his head inside the dark room, smiling when he caught sight of Zexion leaning over the desk, a single lamp lighting the book in his hands. The walls of the study were covered in bookshelves and when not that, then framed bits of manuscripts or old maps Zexion had slowly been collecting, many of the images looking like they were either from the Medieval or Renaissance periods. While Demyx didn't understand all of their images, many of them containing Christian meanings of some sort, he always liked the overall decorating scheme; it was distinctly Zexion and made the room feel like it could be tucked away in some church, quiet and comforting.

Walking over to the desk, Demyx leaned down and wrapped his arms around Zexion's shoulders. Resting his chin on the top of the shorter man's head, he murmured softly. "Hey Zexy, what're you doing?"

"Is it time for an intervention already?" Zexion asked, reaching up to run his hand through Demyx's hair.

Demyx grinned. "Afraid so! You've been in here for five days now, and the rules state that I get to come and drag you out after five days. Besides," Demyx sighed, "I get worried about you when you don't join us for dinner, I know you'd skip meals if we don't feed you."

"Hm, it sounds like I'm a pet." Zexion tilted his head up to get a look at Demyx's face when he heard a chuckle. "But really, I'm almost done with this book, another hour and I promise I'll be finished."

Frowning playfully, Demyx straightened up, wagging his finger, "I don't think so, another hour will only turn into two more days if you have your way." He brightened as Namine came into the room, the blond girl carefully balancing a warm cup of tea and a plate of food. "Yay, reinforcements are here! Nami, help, he wants another hour."

Namine smiled, setting the food down in front of Zexion. "Well we can't have that. Besides Zexion, Demyx has been wasting away since you've closed yourself off, he hasn't even played his guitar all this time."

Zexion frowned, glancing up at Demyx who flushed guiltily, his boyfriend's gaze purposefully avoiding his as Namine smiled to herself. Zexion worried about Demyx just as much as the Wiccan boy cared about him, so it was almost a cheap shot to use that remark to pull Zexion out of his room. But she would use whatever worked, it really was unhealthy for Zexion to stay holed up in the study for so long.

Pulling out of her thoughts as she saw Zexion start to nibble at the provided food, Namine turned to her brother. "Demyx, I just remembered that I wanted to ask you if you hadn't been noticing a strange lack of spirit activity lately."

Demyx tilted his head to the side, "Like, around the apartments? Or do you mean the neighborhood in general?"

"No, I mean in the entire city." Shifting, Namine crossed her arms delicately, "Walking to school, I haven't felt anything lately. Usually, I can sense some sort of spirits, at least some latent energy moving about, but for the past two days, I haven't felt anything, it's just been empty." Sighing, she ran a hand through her long hair, "It feels so empty, it's a little disconcerting."

Frowning, Demyx looked thoughtful, gazing out the small window of the study down onto the street below. "Now that you mention it, I can't really remember having sensed anything for a while." He laughed a little, scratching the back of his head. "Of course I'm not nearly as sensitive as you about this sort of stuff so I didn't pay it much thought, especially since I was a little occupied with Zexy and everything." Pausing, he glanced over at Namine, "But you're right, there hasn't been as much energy in the air. What do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure. It seems to be though that whatever happened to the ghosts in the asylum is happening to ghosts all over the city. They're just disappearing, without a trace, even the ones who would normally be unnoticeable to most people. Whoever is targeting them seems to be going after the spirits as almost a source of energy, whether or not they are threatening beings." Namine stopped as her attention was suddenly caught by their phone ringing. "I'll answer it." Heading toward the door, she paused to turn and smile lightly. "Demyx, pull Zexion out of this room by force if you have to!"

"Right!" Saluting the small woman as she left the room, Demyx then turned to Zexion, letting out a moan of exasperation when he saw that Zexion had buried his nose back into his books. "Zexy! You can't go back to reading, that's not fair."

"What Namine just said has complicated matters, Demyx. If more ghosts are disappearing, than I have to research at a faster pace." He frowned then rubbed his forehead, "But so far it's been irritating, none of these books have anything written about Maleficent." The silence that followed was troubled and forced Zexion away from his reading. He started when he saw that Demyx's face had gone white and immediately stood up. "Demyx? What's wrong?"

"W-What did you just say?"

Zexion frowned. "The person we're looking for is apparently named Maleficen-" He was cut off as Demyx lurched forward and slapped a hand over his mouth.

"That's what I thought you said," Demyx was literally trembling, looking as though he had just seen someone die. "We're going to be in so much trouble I can't believe you just said that name out loud! Oh shit, this is so, so, so bad! I should have recognized the symbol in the first place but how would I have known, I've never seen it, but the raven and everything. Shit, what if it's starting again, what should we do…?!"

Demyx was rambling and Zexion could feel the cold sweat building on the other's hand. Frowning, Zexion grabbed Demyx's hand and squeezed it tightly, pushing his boyfriend gently down into the seat he had just been occupying. Running a hand over the blond's forehead to calm the other man, he asked. "Demyx, why can't I say her name? What do you know about her?"

Biting his lip, Demyx shuddered again, taking both of Zexion's hands in his and looking up at him with wide eyes. "Zexion, this is really bad. Really, really bad." He took a deep breath. "My family used to tell us a story when we were kids, to teach us not to mess with dark magic, you know? Anyway, there was a witch named Male-" Demyx swallowed the rest of the name, squeezing Zexion's hand before continuing. "They never actually said her name, but I saw it written once. She, she lived a long time ago and was devoted to the dark arts. To keep her magic strong, she would sacrifice animals and even humans, in really bad ways. Eventually, she lost herself to the black magic. All of the evil became so concentrated that she lost her humanity, her body still looked human but she was a demon inside."

The story was put on hold as Demyx looked over Zexion's shoulder and saw Namine in the doorway. She had apparently been listening long enough to their conversation to realize what they were talking about because her face had turned nearly as pale as his. Demyx shook his head at the expression on her face, his voice cracking a little. "I have to tell him, Nami. If it is her, they have to know what's going on."

Namine shifted hesitantly, clasping her small hands together before she whispered. "May I finish the story then?" Demyx looked surprised but nodded and Namine picked off where her brother had left off. "Eventually, a group of Wiccans came together and tried to get rid of her but she was too strong even for them. The best they were able to do was to put her into a deep sleep of sorts, locking her inside her own staff. Then they preceded to destroy every memory of her they could find, all of her possessions, any mention of her name, anything that would bring back her name or face into someone's thoughts."

"Why did they do that?"

Letting out a breath, Demyx turned to Zexion. "Well, in the Wiccan tradition, names have a lot of power. In that woman's case, if someone were to say her name, there would be a possibility that the magical lock on the staff could break. Remembering her would bring her back." He chuckled weakly, "When the older Wiccans wanted to try and scare us into being good, they might say that she'd come back and steal our life-force if we didn't behave, because kids have more life-force than adults, and in order to survive, she would need a lot of life-force to keep on sustaining herself. I always thought it was just an old legend though."

Zexion crossed his arms, gears turning in his head as he looked down at his desk. "But she has come back. She came back once before at least, back when that photo of the first symbol was taken, and now she's back again. Someone must have found some reference to her, and called her out. Someone in this city undoubtedly." He began to pace the floor. "Perhaps she has been sustaining herself off of spirit energy so far, with the ghosts from the asylum and around the city." He stopped suddenly and turned to Namine. "But didn't you say that you couldn't feel any more sprit energy anymore?"

Namine nodded and Zexion's frown deepened. "Then who will she strike next?" he asked.

Shivering, Demyx wrapped his arms around himself. "Kids probably, like in the story. Zexy, we have to do something about this!"

"I know. I'll go call Axel."

"You should but he might be busy." Zexion turned to Namine as she spoke up. "That was him on the phone a moment ago. He was calling to say that he was going with the Strifes back to the asylum to try and pull Rose out of Roxas's body. They were thinking it might work in the more familiar surroundings…"

Zexion's eyes narrowed thoughtfully for a moment but then he finally nodded. "Alright. While they're busy, we should try and see if we can't figure out where this Mal-" he stopped halfway through the name when he saw Demyx wince, "-where she is staying. When they come back from the asylum, we should talk to Leon about questioning Pete again. In the meantime, do either of you have an idea of how to locate her?"

Namine frowned clasped her hands together. "Well, if it really is her, she should have a very strong aura of dark magic. We could probably try to find that aura one way or another."

"Good. Let's get started then."

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"Do you really think this will work?"

Axel shrugged at Sora's question, taking his eyes of the road momentarily to glance back at Roxas in his review mirror. "I don't know, but it's worth a try. It could be easier for Rose to leave Roxas if she feels more secure in a familiar environment. Doing okay back there, Roxy?"

"I'm fine." Roxas growled, crossing his arms with a huff. He was getting really tired of people checking in on him. The last week or so, he had been getting way too much attention from his family and the ghost investigators. They were all treating him like a ticking time bomb, and it was all the more annoying that he could see that they were trying to keep things 'normal,' as if trying to keep the severity of his situation from him. He knew very well that he was in a bad situation. Being possessed was bad enough, but by a little girl was just too much.

Sitting beside Roxas and sensing the other's irritation, Cloud smiled a little and wrapped his arm around the teen's shoulders. "Hey, we all just want to set things right. You're going to have to live with our harassment until then."

Roxas's frown softened a little and he sighed, leaning against Cloud's side. "I know, sorry."

Listening in, Axel grinned from the front seat, "Hey, it's cool. I just can't help but worry about my little Roxy."

"Axel…"

"Right Leon, sir, attention going back to the road."

Roxas rolled his eyes, glancing back to his brother who was sharing the back seat with Riku. Since all six of them couldn't have fit in Leon's car, they had been forced to call up Axel and ask for a ride in his van, much to Roxas's embarrassment. Usually the back was full of investigating equipment and TV monitors, but Axel had emptied it out in order to pop up the back seats. For whatever reason, probably to keep an eye on the fiery red-head, Leon was sitting shotgun, leaving the rest of the Strife family to divide up in the back seats. So far the car ride had been surprisingly civil, any awkward silence filled by Axel's alternative rock coming through the car speakers.

After a while, Roxas felt Cloud shift as Axel called out with almost mocking cheerfulness. "Alright boys, we're here! Everyone out of the car!"

As he climbed out of the car behind Cloud, Roxas looked up at the old building, suppressing a shudder. It looked older than ever, but now held an even more hollow feeling. Without the ghosts in it, Roxas thought, it was pretty much just a hollow, crumbling, shell. Biting his lip, he let his eyes scan across the front façade, trying to look past the tangle of ivy and cracked stone, trying to imagine what the asylum must have looked like back when Riku saw it for the first time, or even what it looked like when Rose was sent there. He was so deep in his thoughts that he had stopped paying attention to the people around him, and so jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around defensively, eyes wide when he saw Axel standing beside him.

"Whoa there, kid." Axel chuckled, "You looked a little dazed. Still with us?" Roxas nodded and Axel's smile widened. "Good. Now, we don't know what's going to happen when we go in, so if you're feeling anything strange, any emotions, any pain or something, you're going to have to tell us right away. Okay, Roxy?"

Roxas opened his mouth to come back with some snarky remark about being able to take care of himself until he realized that despite the smile, Axel was being serious; he was worried. Looking away to hide the small tint of pink he could feel on his cheeks, Roxas frowned. "I'll tell you."

"Good boy." Roxas growled and swatted Axel's hand away as the taller boy went to ruffle his hair. As he was pushed away from Roxas, Axel smirked and clapped his hands together. "Alright. So I guess it's time to go inside. There shouldn't be any ghosts in there, so it should be as safe as any other condemned building. We'll stay together of course." He started for the house then stopped and turned toward them. "Oh, and if at one point I start running away at high speed, you should probably follow me and ask questions later. Just as a heads up."

Shaking his head, Roxas pushed passed him and walked into the building, the coolness of the shade inside immediately soaking into him. Looking around the lobby, he turned back to the entrance, walking over to Sora as his brother smiled weakly at him.

"Are you okay, Sora?"

Sora waved him off, his voice a quiet squeak. "I'm fine! I just don't like this place. I was kinda hoping we'd never have to come back." His blue eyes widened and his hand waving increased. "Oh, not that I'm blaming you or anything! It's fine that we're back if it means helping you!"

Roxas shook his head, sending Riku an appreciative look as the pale young man grabbed his boyfriend's hand, effectively calming Sora down. Sora really was bad with all this creepy stuff.

Once they were all inside, Axel crossed his arms and walked up to Roxas. "Alright, Roxy. We're going to have to try and channel Rose now, so don't be surprised if you're overshadowed by her again."

Roxas nodded, suddenly feeling a little nervous as Axel crouched down in front of him, the man's intense green eyes suddenly level with his own. Aware more than ever of how close Axel was, Roxas swallowed as Axel smiled and started talking conversationally. A conversation meant for Rose, not him. "Rose, if you can hear me, I'd love to play with you again. We had a fun time at the library, right? Could you come out for me so we could talk? Roxas won't mind."

Roxas frowned internally as he felt a now-familiar sensation of a mental fog building up, feeling himself falling back into his mind, almost as if being forced into a day dream. On the outside, Axel waited as Roxas's face went blank, the boy's wide blue eyes staring almost straight through him. A moment passed, a few seconds feeling almost like hours before Roxas blinked slowly. "…Axel?"

"Is that you, Rose?" Axel asked tentatively, taking half a step back to give Roxas's body a little space.

Roxas nodded. Behind Axel, Riku gave Sora's hand a comforting squeeze, leading the other's head to rest on his shoulder where he could feel more than hear Sora let out a small, worried breath of air.

At the nod, Axel's face had brightened a little. "Hey, darling. Want to come out to play?" Roxas nodded and stepped forward. Axel shook his head. "No, I meant, come out of Roxas's body. I want to play with you, Rose, and you have to admit, it's a little strange playing with a little girl that looks like an older boy."

"No, I don't want to come out!" Roxas shook his head violently, wrapping his arms around himself. "I don't want to and you can't make me!"

Axel's smile flickered momentarily before he tried another direction, quickly taking Roxas's hand to soothe the small girl inside him. "Okay, we can wait a little more for that. But if you don't want to come out, do you want to give us a tour of the asylum. You must know all the cool places, all the hiding spots. Do you want to show us your room?"

Bad mood suddenly gone, Roxas nodded, wearing a happy grin on that took years off of his face, gripping Axel's hand tightly as he pulled him down one of the hallways. Looking back at the others, Axel was surprised to see that Leon and Cloud had almost shocked expressions on their faces before remembering that this was the first time they had actually seen Roxas in his possessed state. He couldn't stop to talk to them though as he was dragged behind Roxas.

They began their tour at a fast pace. Rose was excited, often telling childish stories about random rooms. She showed them where her cot had been, where they ate meals, where they spent their time during the day. It would have been rather interesting, if they hadn't had another goal for this trip. Finally, as they were nearing the end of the tour, Axel reached down and grabbed Roxas's shoulder, stopping the boy as they were about to go into a room with double doors. Trying to show that he was serious, he knelt down again, once again going eye-to-eye with him. "Rose, we can still play but now I really need you to let go of Roxas. We all love you but we want him to be able to have his own life back. You belong here, in the asylum, like Roxas belongs in his own home. So will you come out now?"

Roxas shook his head again, biting his lip as he edged toward the doors behind him as if looking for a place to run. "No…I don't…I don't want to. Don't be mean, Axel."

"I'm not being mean darling, I'm trying to be fair to everyone." It was obvious that the girl was starting to get riled up but Axel kept trying to reason with her as best he could. "Now come on out."

"No! If you're going to be mean, I'll be mean too!"

With that, Roxas turned and dashed through the double doors, the doors swinging on their hinges as Axel quietly cursed. Leading the way after Roxas, he pushed the doors open, stopping when he saw Roxas standing in the middle of the large room, the teen rubbing his eyes and looking dazed. Shaking his head, Roxas let out a quiet groan, "Shit, my chest, feels like I was hyperventilating or something…" He blinked when he saw the others in the doorway. "What happened? Did she leave?"

"No, I don't think so." Walking forward, Axel eyed Roxas warily. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I guess so." Roxas looked around the room, tilting his head to the side. "Where are we anyway? This place is freakin' creepy."

They all looked around at the new room that they found themselves in. It was dark, like most of the other ones, the windows covered by some black film. It was a low, open room, skeletons of cots lining the walls, some of them still covered in bits of mattress or fabric. There were also metal trollies and chairs placed haphazardly around the room, cabinets on the far side with doors hanging open and showing off rusty displays of equipment. Cloud's eyes narrowed as he looked everything over, and was the first one to speak up. "It looks like some sort of medical room."

"This might have been the infirmary," Riku murmured. "If I can correctly remember the plan from my youth anyway."

Grimacing a little, Axel stood a little straighter. "Eh, the infirmary. We should be on our guard then. This was probably where Rose died. She probably has access to the most of her energy in this room because of that."

"What did she mean though, that she'll be mean too?" Sora asked quietly, looking around the room warily. He turned as Roxas let out a cough, his little brother wincing apologetically.

"Sorry, I guess this place is really dust-" He cut himself off with another cough, that single one turning into a series of deep, chest rattling, coughs that nearly knocked him down. Seeing that Roxas was having almost a coughing attack and was in some amount of pain, Cloud rushed forward, holding the teen as Roxas continued to cough, the boy gasping for breaths between coughs. Rubbing Roxas's back, Cloud looked up at Leon with wide eyes, his gaze snapping over to Axel after a helpless expression from his husband.

"Axel, do you know what's going on?"

Axel shook his head, rushing over to Roxas as well and holding up the teen's other side as Cloud crouched down to examine his son better. Covering his mouth as a particularly painful cough racked his body, Roxas could only let out a whimper as Cloud pulled his hand away, everyone's breath hitching when they saw speckles of red droplets on the inside of the teen's palms. Roxas had just coughed up blood.

Suddenly Axel turned white, quickly backing off. "Shit. Rose died of tuberculosis!"

Paling, Cloud immediately scooped Roxas up. "Leon, call an ambulance! Everyone out of the room, tuberculosis is extremely contagious. I want you all in the car by the time I get outside."

Nodding, Leon grabbed his cell phone but first pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and tied it around Cloud's nose and mouth, squeezing his husband's shoulder before herding the others out of the room. Axel allowed himself to be pushed out, though he paused at the door. Frowning behind the makeshift face mask, Cloud barked for him to get out. There wasn't really anything the red-head could have done at this point and he would just be putting himself in danger if he stayed. After a moment of hesitation Axel seemed to realize this and finally left after a last push from Leon.

Cloud lifted Roxas into a better position in his arms, trying to keep the teen as upright as much as possible to make breathing easier and wrapping his arms around the other's trembling body, trying to smother his own panic as he felt Roxas gripping at his shirt with shaking fists. Rubbing his son's back, Cloud walked out of the infirmary. He headed toward the entrance, hearing the shrill wail of a siren just as they reached the lobby. Sighing with relief at the sound, he wiped a bit of cold sweat off Roxas's forehead. "Hold on, Roxas."

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	7. Chapter 7: Recovering

Chapter 7

Wow, I've been gone for a while, but I'm finally back now after driving up and down my entire state and the next update is here! Woot! Thanks to my readers for being so patient, and especially to my reviewers who left me such great comments to find when I came back home! :D Thanks to: Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, ramen-is-my-goddess, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, Tinker16, Aly-Cooper, Elve Saranel, xBlackxAngelsx, yumie-darkness123, Scootkadoot, Aindel S. Druida, Keira-93, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Kireilovesherkitty, vamprincessmiyu, naminelover9, cheesynoodle, TeamEdwardvsTeamJacob, RubyRoseoftheBlackBlood, Poet Bucky, Ivy J., I'll have some stupid cliche, ooXloveXoo582, DemonicxTears, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, -IvyBlonde-, DBmasta, The Black Inferno Alchemist, thewriterwannabe, Cassie-san, Hound Keeper. So many reviews, you dudes are all totally awesome!

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Axel had tailed the ambulance all the way to the hospital in his van, but by the time they had all gotten into the emergency room, Roxas had already been whisked away into an isolated hospital area. Sora looked around for any sign of Cloud, looking up worriedly at Leon when he failed to locate the blond man. "Leon, where did Cloud go?"

Leon shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Sora. They probably took him into an isolated area too since he came so close in contact with Roxas. He might be somewhere else though, he does work here, I'm sure he's okay."

"What should we do?"

Leon could only shake his head helplessly, all of them looking up as a nurse wearing a sanitary mask bustled over to them. "Pardon me, but is one of you Mr. Strife?"

Nodding, Leon grunted as she suddenly latched onto his arm, tugging him toward one of the sterile halls. "Doctor Strife told us about your situation as he was coming in. All four of you are to follow me so that we can test you for any strains of TB. You were all in close proximity to the patient, correct?" They all had to nod in confirmation and the woman tutted. "Honestly, what with all of you possible TB carriers bursting into the emergency wing we're going to have to test every single visitor!"

Axel frowned, weaving his way past Sora and Riku to walk alongside the woman and speaking up urgently. "When can we see Roxas? Tuberculosis is treatable now, right?"

The woman waved her free hand, the other still clutching onto Leon's sleeve as if she was suspicious of him trying to run away. "We won't know much about his condition until the doctors have seen to him. There is a good chance that our medicine will work, but there are always different strains of TB, making it a tricky thing to try and treat. But you shouldn't worry, at his age, the patient has a greater chance of making a full recovery." Her speech trickled off as she came to a door, opening it to reveal what was just an average check-up room. "You all will have to wait in there I'm afraid. If you do have TB it will be a lot easier to sterilize one room than four."

She ushered them in then closed the door behind her, supposedly going back to get a doctor. As she left, Riku snorted and sat down on the examination bench. "What a lovely, sympathetic woman."

Sora bit his lip, sitting beside his boyfriend. "Riku, do you think Roxas will be alright?"

Sighing, Riku looked at the two older adults who seemed to be in shock then back down to Sora. He had heard of people with tuberculosis at the stage Roxas's back when he was younger. At that stage, it was hard to recover; once they had started coughing up blood, it took a miracle recovery to become healthy again. But that wasn't what Sora needed to hear right now, and for all Riku knew, medicine had advanced greatly since the 19th century. Putting on a small smile, Riku nodded despite his inner doubts. "I am sure Roxas will be fine. The doctors know what they are doing."

Sora nodded, relief washing over his features as he sunk against Riku's side. "Thanks for saying that. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him…" He gave a trembling sigh as Riku wrapped an arm around his waist. From his place sitting on top of the counter next to the sink, Axel gave a similar sigh, his more of exasperation as he buried his face into his hands. Leon was sitting in the only real chair in the room, and he was staring solemnly at the opposite wall.

He was though the only one to look up as the door to their room opened, a doctor in a bright white laboratory coat sauntering in. The woman was wearing a mask and carrying a tray and when her eyes locked onto Leon's stormy gaze, she actually smiled. "You must be Leon. It's nice to finally see the reason Cloud declines all of his offers for dates. I can see why now." When that failed to earn even a twitch of a smile, she sighed. "Roxas is being treated by Doctor Valentine at the moment and Cloud has been moved into the room beside him as he's not showing any violent signs of TB. Now, I'm going to give each of you a little injection under the skin on your arm. As long as it doesn't react, you're in the clear. Now who wants to go first?"

Sighing, Leon raised his head and held out his arm. The woman smirked. "You're a brave man, Mr. Strife. Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt much at all." Setting the tray down on the counter next to Axel, she lifted up a needle. "Now hold still." Leon didn't even flinch as she went to work.

Although he hated needles, Sora tried to be just as calm as his turn came, though he had to bury his face into Riku's shoulder to avoid looking at it, biting back a squeak at the slight pain. Riku took it well, used to the more monstrous needles from his original time and Axel just looked bored with the whole thing, the tattoos under his eyes indicating no problem with needles. After she was done, the woman laid a hand on Leon's shoulder. "Okay, I can give you some paperwork to fill out, but if you want you can finish it in the waiting area outside Roxas's room. Cloud will have gotten the same treatment as you and if Valentine lets him out, he should be out in the hall by the same time you are."

Nodding, Leon stood up, murmuring his thanks before leading the way through the hospitals many twists and turns. Luckily it was the hospital Cloud worked at, so he somewhat knew the layout. Well, he knew the way from Cloud's office to the cafeteria, but he knew how to ask for directions.

Within a few minutes, they reached the right hall, Leon knowing he was in the right place when he saw Cloud sitting down on the hallway bench, the blond's head leaning back against the wall and his eyes closed. Making his way over to his husband, Leon dropped down next to him. "Hey, how'd it go?"

Cloud sighed. "I should be fine. Did all of you get the TB test?"

"Ya, the doctor seemed to know you pretty well too. She was a little vicious with the needle though."

Chuckling, Cloud shook his head. "Must have been Tifa. I'm surprised she didn't stab you all the way through the arm. She's nice, blackbelt and all that. We'll have to invite her over sometime." He glanced over and spotted the bunches of paper in their hands and wearily waved for them. "Here, give me your paperwork, I can fill it out for you. Axel, while I'm filling out Sora and Riku's, you can go in and sit with Roxas, just wear a face mask. There are some stacked beside the door for visitors."

Axel looked at him with surprise then smiled happily and slipped into Roxas's room, remembering to grab a face mask before disappearing past the door. Cloud rolled his eyes as Leon let out a small growl, murmuring lightly. "You're going to have to stop being a hypocrite eventually, you know."

Sora tilted his head to the side curiously as Leon shot Cloud a warning glance. "What did you mean by that?"

Smiling, Cloud turned his attention to their son. "Let's just say I'm a little more sympathetic toward Axel than Leon is. After all, I know that if someone I cared about had been sent to the hospital, I would have loved to have had permission from their father to go and check up on them, despite any age differences. Isn't that right, Squall?"

Leon flinched at the name use, hissing a little under his breath. "It's not the same and you know it."

"It's not, but I think you might need to look at yourself in the mirror sometime soon, Leon, before things do repeat themselves."

Receiving nothing but a glower, though the expression was now slightly guilty, Cloud sighed then stood up. "I'm going to go look up our insurance information on the computers, so I'll be back soon. You can sit here and wait for a chance to visit with Roxas. And watch your TB testing too, if it doesn't go away in twenty more minutes, we might have something to worry about."

After Cloud had headed off toward his office, Sora had tentatively scooted closer to Leon, his curiosity burning. "Leon, what was he talking about? Did your dad not let him come see you when you were sick or something?"

Leon actually flushed a bit with embarrassment, cursing Cloud in his mind for bringing the subject up in front of the kids. With a sigh, he leaned forward, resting his forehead on interlaced fingers before murmuring. "You know Cloud and I met at college?"

Sora nodded, getting ready for a story as Riku sat just as attentively beside him.

Sighing again, Leon glanced over, smiling a little this time. "We never told you the whole story. Basically, as it goes, I was 17 and a freshman. He was 23, a first year grad student, and the teacher's aid for my chemistry class. He still cooked like crap even back then so we used to see each other at my dorm's cafeteria and we kind of grew close. Anyway, to make a story short, my roommate, Seifer Almasy, and I got into an argument." Leon sighed and ran a finger down the scar on his face. "We had always had clashing personalities but we had always gotten along well enough until then. It was both of our faults that the fight elevated to where it did. We both ended up cutting each other's faces and so I ended up in the hospital. My dad was there, and as you may know, he never really approved of my relationship with Cloud. He didn't let Cloud into my room, even though Cloud had been the one to find me in the first place and had ridden with me to the hospital. Which caused a fight among me and my dad, and we really haven't talked civilly since. Any more questions?"

Sora quickly shook his head, his eyes wide as he merely internalized the story. Because as badly as it had been told, it was probably the most Leon was ever going to reveal about himself in one moment. Now that Sora thought about it, he realized that there was a fairly significant age gap between Cloud and Leon. He had just never thought about it because really, they looked the same age and Leon was always the gruffer, more dominant figure. He looked up as Leon suddenly stood, the man sighing before glancing down at them. "I'm going to go find Cloud. You two can stay here or go inside and see Roxas, just remember to wear the masks if you do."

They nodded, Sora turning to Riku as Leon walked off in the same direction Cloud had gone. "So, what do you want to do?"

"We should probably stay out here for a little while, give Axel and Roxas some time alone."

Sora chuckled weakly then nodded. "You're right, they do need it. But I still want to go see him soon. He is my little brother after all."

Softly smiling, Riku leaned down and kissed Sora's cheek, gazing at the door to Roxas's room. "I know, and so does Axel. We can go inside in a few minutes."

Inside the hospital room, Axel was standing beside Roxas's bed, watching the small teen lightly dozing. Roxas's head was propped up by stacks of pillows, an oxygen mask strapped firmly over his mouth and nose. He wasn't hooked up to an IV though, the doctors were probably trying to find out the exact strain of tuberculosis that he had before assigning him the proper medication and dosage.

Axel's green eyes flickered back to Roxas's face as the teen shifted, the other's eyes fluttering open to meet his gaze. Smirking, Axel spoke up softly. "Hey kid, we've got to stop meeting like this. Every damn time we do something together, you end up in the hospital and I have to admit, that doesn't send good signals about our relationship."

Roxas chuckled despite his discomfort, the chuckle turning into a muffled series of small coughs. Once he had smothered them back down into submission, Roxas glared accusingly up at Axel. "Get the hell out of my room, laughing is so not good for me right now."

Grinning, Axel leaned down. "Oh, so you're saying I'm funny then. Witty maybe? Are you thinking 'Gee Axel, you brighten my day and make life worth living, I'd love to give you a big kiss right now?'"

"Sure I'll give you a kiss, you can join me in hacking up blood. We can make it a party, it'll be great."

Axel laughed at Roxas's deadpan statement. "Touché, Roxy, touché."

Roxas watched curiously as Axel looked around the room, the red-head pulling a chair up to his bed a moment later. Sprawling his top half over the bed, Axel grinned cheekily up at Roxas, the two of them falling into a comfortable type of silence. Roxas's cheeks flushed a little though. The last time he had spent this kind of quiet in Axel's presence was probably back when Axel ate with him in the café. He let another moment pass, his hands twisting together, fingers playing with the paper hospital bracelet on his left wrist before he sighed, unable to meet Axel's gaze. "Axel, are you just messing with me all the time?"

"Messing with you?"

"You know. You're always being a pervert and flirting with me and stuff…Is that like a thing you do with everyone or what?"

Roxas looked down, slightly offended as he heard a chuckle. It had been a serious question. His angry expression froze on his face though when he saw that Axel's was only a few inches from his. The expression on the man's face was amused, but his green eyes were flashing with another emotion. "It's not with everyone Roxas, just you. You're pretty cute." Roxas swallowed, flushing to his ears as he muttered something under his breath. Axel smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. You need to talk louder behind that mask of yours."

Wetting his lips, Roxas huffed, glaring lightly at Axel before trying again. "Then why didn't you talk to me for two whole years?"

"Roxas…" Roxas was determined not to look at Axel until he felt a larger hand take his own. "Roxas, look at me." Roxas obeyed and turned his head back, his irritation softening when Axel brought his hand up to his lips, the action somewhat compromised due to the fact that Axel was wearing a paper mask. "Truthfully, I thought you hated my guts. I wanted to give you some time, to think things over. And you were only fourteen; you really didn't need a college-age stalker. You still don't, kid."

Snorting to try and cover up his red embarrassment, Roxas twisted his head away again, biting his lip before murmuring low. "It wouldn't bother me that much…"

"Hm?"

"It wouldn't bother me, if you wanted to hang out more." Roxas took in a deep, shaky breath. "You're an idiot, but I don't…I don't hate you. And even though you're annoying I like spending time with you for some reason, and I don't want you to leave me alone for another two years after this whole thing blows over." His already red face darkened at his own statement and Roxas quickly backpedaled to a more comfortable topic. "Now let go of my hand before I punch you in the face."

Cheerfully, as if Christmas had come early, Axel obeyed and released Roxas's hand. "Sure thing, Roxy. We should probably let the others into the room any way, preferably before Leon comes in to shoot me down." He stood up, looking like he was going to head for the door when he suddenly stopped and leaned over, slipping his mask down from his face and pressing a light kiss to Roxas's forehead. "And don't worry, I won't leave if you don't want me too." Smirking, he pecked Roxas's forehead again before straightening up, sending Roxas a wink before snapping his mask back into place. "You just have to let me know how you feel about all this. I don't want to be tip toeing around if you're ready for more."

"Pervert." Roxas growled, his skin and face still burning from the touch of Axel's lips. "Don't blame me if you just gave yourself tuberculosis!"

Axel only laughed at the response. "Of course I'll blame you, don't be silly, Roxas!" His smile grew a little softer and he ruffled Roxas's hair before heading toward the door. "I'm going to go head outside for a smoke and call the guys to let them know what happened. I'll be right out front if you need me though."

Roxas nodded, watching as the red-head left the room and smiling weakly when Sora poked his head in, the young man looking somewhat ridiculous in his own mask. "Hey, Sora."

"Hi, Roxas! Are you feeling any better? You're not coughing anymore, so that's probably a good sign."

Smiling again, Roxas shifted, aware of his brother's worried eyes on his oxygen mask and bed ridden state. He hated letting Sora see him sick, it made him feel as if he wouldn't be able to take care of his older brother. "I'm feeling a little better. They gave ne some sort of cough represent though, so that's probably why I'm not coughing as much. You're okay though, right?"

Sora laughed, the sound much lighter than Axel's deeper one had been just a moment ago but still containing the same amount of hidden relief. "We're fine! You were the one who got sick, so worry about yourself for once!" This said, Sora walked over to the bed and sat down at Roxas's feet before waving for Riku to come inside. Riku obeyed, slipping into the chair Axel had been previously occupying, the three of them sitting in silence for a moment before Sora let out a deep sigh. "All this and Rose isn't even gone, is she?"

Closing his eyes, Roxas sunk back into his pillows. "No, I don't think so. I don't feel any different then I have for the past few weeks anyway."

"Well," Sora murmured, biting back a smile. "I always did want to know what it would be like to have a little sister, guess I'll just have to learn to live with it!" He let out a laughing shriek as Roxas kicked him from under the blankets, nearly pushing him off of the small bed. Even Riku had to chuckle as he watched Sora valiantly cling on to the plastic footboard, though their laughter was interrupted as the door to Roxas's room opened and Dr. Valentine stepped inside.

The man looked as serious as ever with a file tucked under his arm and a stethoscope around his neck, his red eyes scanning over the three before he spoke up in his quiet, low voice. "Where did Cloud go, I would like to speak with him."

"He went to his office. Is Roxas going to be okay?"

Vincent ignored Sora's question and instead locked his gaze onto Roxas. "Have you been coughing any more?"

"A little, but not real coughs, not like before anyway." Frowning behind his oxygen mask, Roxas tilted his head to the side. "Why? How bad is it?"

"Like I said, I need to confer with Cloud. I'll be back momentarily."

Sora's eyebrows rose as Vincent swept out of the room as silently as he had come, blinking before he turned to Riku and Roxas. "What do you think that meant?"

Riku shook his head. "I'm not really sure. He definitely wanted to speak with Cloud before telling us anything though. Perhaps there was some sort of complication?" His voice trailed off after this, all of them trying to figure out what the doctor had discovered. Was it going to be so bad that Vincent didn't want to tell them?

Roxas shook only a little with worry but Sora caught it and slid up the bed, squeezing his brother's hand comfortingly. Roxas smiled sickly up at him, realizing with some mortification that he was really wishing that Axel was back in the room with them. How long did it take to smoke and make a phone call anyway? He inhaled sharply with the door to the room swung open again, Vincent coming back in with Cloud and Leon close on his tail, all three of them conspicuously not wearing any face masks. Cloud's eyebrows were drawn together in what looked to be confusion, his blue eyes raking through the files which Vincent had been holding under his arms when he had first come into their room.

Pausing at the foot of Roxas's bed, Vincent sighed then moved up its side, pulling his stethoscope up into his ears and motioning with his hand for Sora to scoot over. Once Sora had gotten out of the way, Vincent leaned down and propped Roxas up, pressing the chestpiece against the teen's back. Roxas breathed on command, his eyes flickering worriedly to Cloud's face as Vincent calmly moved to listen to the other lung a moment later. After a minute or so of tense silence, Vincent stood back up, murmuring low. "Cloud, what do you think?"

"I think it doesn't make any sense. Was his chest-?"

"Clear of any rattling."

Leon frowned, looking over to Cloud just as Axel slipped back into the room, the red head quietly moving over to the back wall as he caught onto the conversation. "What's going on?"

Cloud bit his lip from confusion then smiled a little. "Well, I'm not sure how it happened, but Roxas's TB test came out negative. He's not sick, not anymore. But Vincent, he was coughing up blood."

"I know, I saw them cleaning Roxas up in the emergency ward. It is very strange."

Frowning, Roxas tilted his head to the side. "So…I'm not sick?"

Vincent shook his head. "Not with anything we can detect, except for the fact that you seem to be suffering from the after-affects of tuberculosis, as a recovering patient would be. You'll be staying overnight for observation of course, but in the mean time I'll allow Cloud to try and figure out what happened. The rest of your TB tests have sunk down under the skin, correct?" The others inside the room nodded, showing their arms which were devoid of any bumps or rashes. Vincent nodded. "As I might have expected. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to other than emergency cases. I'll have a nurse bring in your dinner."

He slipped back out of the room and Cloud let out a quiet laugh of relief, running a hand through his blond spikes. "I don't know how happened, but Roxas, I think you're going to be just fine!"

Roxas grinned, squeezing Sora's hand as his brother let out what could have only been described as a bubbly, happy giggle. His gaze couldn't help but flash to Axel, his cheeks flushing a little when Axel smiled at him, the other's cat-like green eyes burning happily even though they were looking slightly distracted by something else. Roxas wasn't quite sure what to make of what their relationship was turning into, but Axel's expression made his stomach flip.

Clapping his hands together, Cloud finally spoke up again. "Well, Roxas may be staying here overnight, but the rest of us should probably go back home. Especially Riku. It's already been a few hours since we've been back home."

Riku flushed a little in embarrassment, sighing as Sora's eyes flew over to him worriedly. He sent his boyfriend a soothing smile. "Don't worry, I'm feeling alright still, at this point it is nothing more than a little added tension. I am sure going home though would not hurt."

"We can go home soon then." Sora looked down at Roxas. "Are you going to be okay here on your own?"

"I suppose."

Cloud smiled lightly. "I could catch up on some of my missed work here overnight if you want some company. That way, even if something unexpected does happen, at least one of us will be here to support you. I just wish I knew how it just suddenly went away…"

"It was probably because you managed to get him out of the room so quickly." Everyone turned to face Axel as the young man spoke up, his arms crossed over his chest. "Rose probably only had the power to do this when she was inside the infirmary, where her strongest negative memories were. If he had stayed inside the room, there is no doubt in my mind that Roxas…he could have very well died." There was a solemn silence in the air before Axel grinned shakily. "But he didn't, so we should count ourselves lucky. And as much as I would love to stay with you, I really do have to get to Demyx's apartment. Apparently they're having some sort of crisis. I'll keep you updated if it's anything important." He paused then looked at Roxas apologetically. "I'm sorry I won't be able to stay."

Roxas shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway. They'd kick you out after visiting hours were over. Besides, if there's something going on with Demyx, you should probably go help him out."

"So I should." Axel chuckled low then turned and saluted Leon and Cloud. "Well, you heard the kid. I'll be heading out then. We should get going as I am the one with the car."

Cloud moved closer to Leon and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Come get us in the morning?"

"Of course. I'll be by at eight to pick the both of you up. Don't work too hard and Roxas, get lots of rest. Come on Sora, Riku. Let's go."

The two nodded, Sora waving goodnight to his brother before they and Axel left the room. They were making their way back through the maze-light twists and turns in the hospital when something caught Sora's eye. A familiar long brown braid and pretty pink skirt brushing around a corner up ahead. Perking up curiously, Sora glanced back at Leon before dashing ahead, letting out a cry of recognition when he spotted the familiar face of Aerith Gainsborough. Running up to her, he threw his arms around her waist, startling a surprised but quiet shriek out of the woman. She spun around, her expression changing from alarmed to happy in a second when she identified the spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes. "Oh! Sora, is that really you? It's been so long since I've seen you, look how well you've grown up!" Smiling, she returned his hug whole-heartedly. Her eyes lifting up to Leon as the older man rounded the corner. "And Leon, how have you been?"

Leon smiled gently, an expression he reserved for only the people he truly enjoyed being around. "We've been doing good Aerith. But what are you doing here," His smile fell as a thought occurred to him. "Is everything alright?"

Aerith sighed, her hands tightening around Sora a little as she smiled to mask the extent of her concern. "I'm afraid not. I had to bring one of the kids in today after we couldn't wake him up this morning! He sleeps right beside the other children, so I can only hope that it's not something contagious or else we might have to close down the orphanage…"

"Have the doctor's said anything yet? Who was it?" Sora asked quietly, looking up at the woman who had for years acted as his surrogate mother.

"You wouldn't know him, Sora. His name is Denzel, he's such a sweet boy but I'm so worried about him! The doctors said that he's in a coma and I don't know what to do. The other children are so worried too." She sighed again. "I'll have to go back to the orphanage eventually to tell them what's going on, but I only wish that I could give them some more hopeful news, and actually understood about going on!"

Pulling away a little, Sora looked concernedly up at Aerith. "You should definitely go talk to Cloud. He works here and he should be able to give you a better explanation. Roxas is here too, he's staying here overnight so if you have the time, I know he'd be really happy to talk to you again."

Aerith smiled a little. "Yes, of course I'll see him, Sora. You and Roxas were such sweethearts, it would be wonderful to see him again. And maybe I will have to talk to Cloud as well." Glancing down at her delicate wristwatch, she let out a noise of surprise. "It's getting so late though, time passed so quickly when I was sitting beside Denzel."

"You should go find Cloud before visiting hours are over." Leon murmured, "If nothing else, he'll be able to find a way to let you stay later. His office is back the way we came, on the third floor, he should be near there now if you want to go look for him."

The woman nodded, clasping hands with Sora in a gentle goodbye before running off in the direction in which they had come. Sad to see Aerith in such a worried state, though happy to have seen her again after so long, Sora was pulled from his thoughts when Axel spoke up.

"Her orphanage, could I have its address?"

"Why?" Leon asked.

"I have a hunch it might be connected to Demyx and the other's problem, and possibly the beginning of something much worse. But come on, we should be getting you back to your house. Wouldn't want Riku toppling over or anything."

Rolling his eyes, Riku ignored the comment even though over the last hour or so his face actually had gotten a little paler and wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders. "As I said, I will be fine. But we should get back to our home, if only so that you can get to Demyx's sooner."

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	8. Chapter 8: Surrounding the Threat

Chapter 8

Wow, I kinda almost made this update on time this week. I'm almost impressed with myself. It's shorter than the last one, but that last chapter was kind of really long. Anyway, I hope that everyone has been enjoying the Olympics, I know I have! Thanks to everyone who took the time to review despite watching the events: ramen-is-my-goddess, Ivy J., Tinker16, vamprincessmiyu, Hound Keeper, Yours For all Eternity, Kireilovesherkitty, Cassie-san, yumie-darkness123, Poet Bucky, Aindel S. Druida, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, CheenaSantiSprinkles, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, xBlackxAngelsx, -IvyBlonde- , NightmareFairy! I love you guys! :D

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After Axel had dropped them off at their house, Leon, Sora, and Riku had basically gone straight to bed, finding themselves exhausted after their long evening of worry. Even though the house was only without two of its members, it still seemed quiet and empty as Sora climbed into bed next to Riku. With a soft sigh, he burrowed into the other's arms, pressing close as Riku kissed the top of his head. "You shouldn't worry," Riku said. "Roxas is going to be fine, Cloud is watching over him tonight after all, along with the other doctors."

"I know." Sora whispered, his voice tickling Riku's neck a little. "It's just been a while since we haven't slept in the same house, you know? It's a little weird..."

Shifting so that he was propped up on his elbow, Riku pulled his head back to get a better look at Sora's face. The moonlight coming in from the window just barely lit the room but Riku could still see the soft pout and sad blue eyes. Frowning but not knowing what to say to be a comfort, Riku leaned down, kissing Sora gently before laying back down and tucking Sora's head underneath his chin. "Try your best to get some sleep." He murmured. "Roxas will be back in the morning."

He felt Sora nod against his chest, closing his own eyes as he felt weariness take over him. He only hoped that Sora would soon follow his example as he fell asleep.

To Riku, it felt like only a minute had passed before he suddenly felt himself snapped back into wakefulness, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as if he had just had a nightmare. Raking a hand through his silver hair, he closed his eyes to calm himself and focus. What had woken him up? There was something pricking the back of his mind, a low feeling of trepidation. Frowning, Riku reached out mentally to the energy of the house. Nothing was being disturbed. Leon was in bed, the windows were all closed. He focused in on the front door. Still locked. Everything seemed in order, but that didn't explain why he had woken up. Perhaps it truly had only been a bad dream he had awakened from.

Absently, he ran a hand down Sora's shoulder and arm, the comforting gesture doing more to calm him than his sleeping boyfriend. A flicker of a smile crossed Riku's features when the younger man murmured something unintelligible and rolled over from the touch and with a quiet sigh he slid back down to the pillows. Maybe some of Sora's concern for Roxas had affected him. Either way, it would be best to go back to sleep despite any uneasy feelings.

Closing his eyes, Riku tried to go back to sleep but it continued to evade him, that worry in the back of his mind forming into a sort of inescapable pinpoint of activity in his thoughts.

After nearly half an hour of listening to Sora's soft breathing, he sat up again, the digital clock on Sora's side of the bed declaring in blaring red numbers that it was nearly 2:30, in Riku's opinion much too late to still be up. Frustrated, he shook his head, if his mind wasn't going to allow him to rest, then he would just have to take a walk around the house, if for nothing else than to prove to himself that nothing was wrong.

Trying to move the mattress as little as possible, Riku slowly slid out of the bed, for once thankful that Sora was such a heavy sleeper. Since no one else was awake, he didn't bother to worry about being dressed properly, and slipped out of his bedroom in nothing but his sleeping pants.

His footsteps were nearly silent as he padded down the hallway, glancing at the two closed doors to the other bedrooms before slipping downstairs. The air was still and quiet, his own breathing almost seeming to echo around him as he descended the staircase. It was odd, being up this late, bringing up memories of when he used to endlessly wander the same path as a ghost. Back then, he would have never imagined that he could have could have been returned to a body. He had actually forgotten though, how nice it was just to wander in the night sometimes.

Riku stopped once, a floorboard creaking under his foot from age, and he peered down into the darkness below. Everything seemed so peaceful, but he took a small tour of the first floor to be cautious, even going so far as to check that the oven was off. One he had made sure that everything was as it should have been, Riku walked back upstairs. Once up, he peeked into the bathroom, but seeing nothing, finally returned back to his and Sora's room. Just as he was about to go inside and force himself to sleep, his sea blue eyes fell on the two closed doors in the hall. Leon was asleep in the master suite, surely if something was wrong, the police officer would have awakened by now. All that left then was Roxas's empty room.

Walking over, Riku carefully opened the door to the teen's room, not wanting to wake the others in the house from some loud creak. Inside, the room was immaculate as usual. Even the bed had been made, a habit Roxas had attributed to building when he and Sora had lived in the orphanage. Running his long fingers across Roxas's desk, Riku's silver brows furrowed. This was the last room in the house, and yet still he had seen nothing out of the ordinary. But the sense of trepidation had still not diminished. If nothing else, it had even increased. Riku closed his eyes, feeling out the energy again; what was it that was bothering him?

Reaching out for all corners of the house, Riku allowed his thoughts to bleed outside to the surrounding property, trying to feel for anything at all unusual. It was a split second later that an alarm went off in his head; out front, there was bad energy to the side of the house, the side Roxas's window faced.

Whipping around, Riku ran to the window, his eyes quickly scanning the area around the branches of trees, frowning when he didn't even see a small animal. Suddenly, a flash of something caught his attention, his eyes snapping up just as a large black bird darted out from among the branches, coming straight for the house. Riku jumped back as it hurtled toward the window, for a split second thinking it was going to hit and crash through the glass when it suddenly pulled back, wings spread and claws showing, its yellow eyes locking with his gaze before it flew off just as quickly as it had come.

Pressing a hand to his chest, Riku waited a moment then ran back to the window, not daring to open it but trying to see where the creature had escaped to, trying to kill the icy terror that had flashed through him.

That thing's gaze, it had been burning, filled with nothing but hatred. Without stopping to think on how he knew, Riku could immediately tell that that had been Maleficent's minion. And that he had just received a warning.

Running back down the stairs, Riku grabbed his long coat from where it was on the hanger and slid it on. Leon wouldn't be able to do anything, the bird had flown off, and he certainly didn't want to tell Sora until morning, it would only scare him. He would have to alert Axel to what had happened; he would know what to do, or who to talk to. But how was he supposed to get across town at this time of night?

Stopping a foot from the door, Riku slapped a hand over his face, hiding the red flush on his cheeks. He hadn't felt so stupid for a few months; they had telephones now, he was supposed to use telephones and cell phones for contacting people. Inwardly relieved that no one had caught his momentary slip, Riku walked over to the house's phone, picking it up warily. As he had expected from past experience, when he put it up to his ear, all he could hear was a hissing, static-filled noise thanks to his own supernatural presence in the house.

Eyes narrowed in irritation, Riku kept hold of the phone then marched back over to the front door, unlocking it before he slipped out onto the front porch. Closing the door behind him most of the way, he sat down on the steps, testing the phone out again. It was better now, though not perfect; there was still some hissing and crackling but at least he would hopefully be understood now. Riku felt slightly clumsy as he pressed the button for the electronic phone book, flashing through the names until he found the one labeled 'Axel.' Despite the nervousness he had while speaking on the phone, his words never came out as eloquent as he wanted, Riku pushed the button to call and held the apparatus back up to his ear, his eyes on the sky, scanning the star-filled night for any attacking ravens.

Riku was starting to lose his patience at the eighth ring when the other end of the phone came to life, though in a somewhat groggy voice. _"…Hello?"_

"Hello, this is Riku, Riku Miyuno. Is this Axel speaking?"

_"Riku?"_ Riku let out a small breath of relief at the recognition in the other's voice. _"I can barely understand you, what's going on? You sound like a freakin' EVP or something."_

"That would be because I'm calling from the house. I apologize for calling so late but I think we might have a problem. I just saw that raven from Roxas's window."

There was a pause, some shuffling on the other end of the line, Axel's voice instantly more alert. _"What? Malef-"_ He gasped as if someone had punched him. _"Shit Dem, sorry, I forgot her name's taboo, don't have too kill me for it. But Riku, you're sure it was her raven?"_

"I know it was. It seemed to have a threatening enough disposition anyway."

_"This makes everything more complicated. Zexion, add the Strife house as a location."_ Axel's attention came back to Riku after a moment, as if a thought had just occurred to him. _"Is everything okay though? Should one of us come over?"_

Riku paused to pull his coat more about him to combat the chilly, autumn night air, glancing back at the house before sighing. "No, you needn't bother. It flew away right after I saw it, and as long as everyone stays in the house, I should be able to keep them safe. I just wanted to let you know, in case you know more about what is going on and thought there might be something to worry about."

_"I don't know what to tell you, Riku. I you're comfortable with it, you can probably go ahead and go back to sleep. If anything happens again though, we're probably going to be up for the rest of the night here at Demyx's and I'll keep my phone on. I'll probably be calling Cloud, just to make sure everything's secure with the hospital, so don't worry about Roxas or anything. Are you sure you'll be fine though?"_

"Fairly sure."

_"Alright. But don't be afraid to call back, yo. Shit, I just sounded like Reno, didn't I? Man, I need some sleep. Talk to you soon, Riku. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll have more figured out. Bye!"_

There was a definitive click on the other end. Raising an eyebrow, he ended the conversation on his end as well then stood up, giving the sky one more look before slipping back into the house. He locked the door, hung his coat back up on its hook, and then put the phone in its place before heading back upstairs.

Padding silently back into his and Sora's bedroom, Riku couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of Sora spread out on the bed, having rolled over to Riku's side in just the short time he had been gone. With careful movements, Riku slipped back into bed, wrapping his arms back around Sora.

Sora's nose wrinkled a little, waking up halfway. "Mn…Riku, why're you colder'n normal…?"

"I apologize, I had to go outside for a moment."

"S'too late for that, go t'sleep."

"Alright." Riku smiled softly as Sora mumbled something then rolled over so that his back was pressing against Riku's chest. Riku pulled the brown-haired boy closer, feeling as if his own body was very nearly soaking in the other's warmth. Sora was back asleep within seconds but Riku knew that he himself wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Not while Maleficent knew where they lived.

Meanwhile, halfway across town, Axel wearily threw his pone back onto his coat which was draped an armchair. "Damn, things might be escalating faster than we want. What have we got so far, Zexion?"

Zexion looked down at the map of the city that had been spread out over his coffee table, a few red dots pinpointing events already marking the twists of city streets. "So far, we know of the incident at the asylum, which took place a while ago. Now there is the orphanage and just tonight, the Strife home was visited." Picking up a marker, he added a red dot to the court the Strife's lived in, his eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully. "Look here, chronologically speaking, these events form a sort of line, with the orphanage nearly directly between both their house and the asylum."

"So she's spiraling out from one location?" Axel asked, crouching down beside Zexion.

"Could be. We need more locations though to accurately pinpoint her enough for an offensive strike." Zexion looked up, his voice quieting a little as he addressed Namine. The girl sitting across from him at the table was deep in concentration, and he wanted to respect that. "Namine, do you have anything?"

Namine kept her eyes closed, the pencil in her hand raised high above the map as she sat their waiting. "It's hard, trying to read the residues of the spirits. But, oh-!" She suddenly struck her pencil down onto the map, her eyes still closed as her hand seemed to move by a will of it's own, marking points with a jerky, randomness, images clearly flashing too quickly through her head for her to keep up as she tried to voice what she was seeing. "There was the ghost of a man here who's gone now, here, a young woman, two children—an infant." Her pencil fell from her fingers, rolling across the map as she slumped back into the couch she was sitting on, her eyes fluttering open as she gratefully accepted the glass of water Demyx pressed into her hands. "There were so many spirits that have disappeared…it's so sad."

"Perhaps, but they did leave us with a pattern to follow."

Giving his sister's shoulder a squeeze, Demyx gave her a soft smile then moved over behind Zexion, peering down at the map over the other's head. There were penciled marks all over the map, seemingly randomly placed but a grouping nonetheless. And taking into account the tree points already marked and presuming they formed a radius…"It looks like it would form a ripple or something," Demyx murmured.

"And at the center is her hideout." Zexion took the pencil up from the table and began drawing circles, in the grouping of dots. "Apparently in the center of the older section of downtown Radiant Garden."

Demyx frowned, looking down at the map with trepidation. "You mean Hollow Bastion? Where all the gangs are and stuff?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, the map isn't accurate enough. At the moment, it's still leaving six square blocks that we would have to investigate thoroughly, which could take weeks, even with Auron's help. And I don't exactly want to go wandering blind in that sort of area just for the fact that there is a good possibility of getting mugged every time you pass an alley. We need to know more information." Letting out a small growl, Zexion rubbed his eyes tiredly, his mind apparently nearly exhausted from thinking. "Alright. Leon said that he put Pete into jail. We need to get him to question Pete again, perhaps the man knows something more about where we could find her-" With a frown, he cut himself off, a hand raising to cover his nose. "Axel, what have I said about smoking in this house?"

Axel rolled his eyes, his coat on as he stuffed his lighter back in to the pocket and took a quick puff on his cigarette. "Ya, I know, I'm getting out. We seemed to have reached a good stopping point so I was just going to give Cloud a call like I told Riku I would. I'll tell him to talk to Leon in the morning about questioning Pete too."

As Axel slipped out the front door, Namine smiled a little. "I think he was just happy for an excuse to check up on Roxas. But he was right. I'm not sure if we have any more that we can do tonight. It would probably be best just to get some sleep."

Stretching up onto his feet, Demyx nodded. "Probably. I'll get out a blanket and pillow for Axel. I think he's sleeping on the couch tonight." He glanced out the window, watching as Axel spoke low on the phone, the red-head running a hand through his wild spikes almost nervously. "Hopefully tomorrow morning we'll be able to learn a little bit more."

They waited a few minutes for Axel to finish outside, Zexion busying himself with clearing off the plates from the meals and snacks they had had over the hours as Namine fixed up the couch for it to be good for sleeping. As Zexion placed the plates by the kitchen sink, he let out a quiet sigh. He was more than ready to go to bed and sleep for hours. Unfortunately he knew that wasn't going to be the case. Not only did they all have school tomorrow, but if they were able to get information from Leon, that would be all the more to try to fit into his calculations. Really, Zexion loved his job, but sometimes it took much too much time out of his schedule.

He gasped despite himself as arms suddenly wrapped around him, relaxing only when he felt Demyx lean down against the back of his neck. "Axel came back inside, Zexy. It's time to go to bed, not time to do too much thinking."

Zexion nodded, turning around and taking Demyx's hand. "You're right. We'll need our energy for tomorrow."

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Leon gripped his steering wheel a little tighter after having dropped Cloud and Roxas back off at home. It had been an interesting morning so far to see the least. Before he had left for the hospital, he had learned that apparently Riku had spotted Maleficent's raven outside their house, the silver-haired young man somewhat apologetic about not saying anything about it until breakfast. Leon supposed that was for the best though, Sora had paled enough as it was; if he had known about it so late in the night, none of them would have gotten much sleep.

And then when Leon had gone to the hospital, Cloud had alerted him to the fact that Axel had called him late and had requested that Leon talk to Pete about Maleficent's hiding spot. Well, he hadn't actually said 'Maleficent,' they had all learned that that name was not to be said now, something about it giving her more power.

Leon didn't always know exactly was going on, but he did at least know that Roxas had been looking better when he had been sitting in the back of his car. He at least he hadn't been coughing up any more blood. And he had apparently gotten some good rest at the hospital, at least according to Cloud, who was looking a little weary himself. It reminded Leon a little of when he and Cloud had just adopted the boys, organizing their schedules so that someone was always at the apartment with them when they were back from school, even if that meant that one of them was working the nightshift.

Pulling into the police station, Leon got out of his car and walked quickly into the station, passing by Cid's closed door, closed most likely so that the smoke detector couldn't sense his cigars, only to be jumped on by Yuffie. "I got your message, Leon, and pulled some quick strings! Thank me now because your man is waiting for you in Interview Room 1."

"Thanks, Yuffie. I'll treat you to lunch." Leon clapped her on the back, smiling a little as she bounced on into Cid's office. He didn't know how the young woman could be so energetic so early in the morning. Grabbing a map off of his desk and straightening his shoulders as he neared the interview rooms, Leon banged open the door, startling Pete and nearly causing the big man to drop the cup of coffee he had been nursing in his hands. The coffee was undoubtedly Yuffie's doing, the girl always was too soft with the criminals although even Leon had to admit that Pete was looking pitiable in his orange jumpsuit.

When he saw who it was coming in, Pete's eyebrows narrowed. "What's goin' on? It though you said I'd be in jail for a few months or somethin'."

"Don't worry, you're going straight back to prison once we're done here. I just wanted some more information."

"I don't know much, but I'll tell you what I can."

"I was expecting as much." Setting his map out on the table between them, Leon opened it up. "You said before that you did a lot of scouting for the woman, and dealt with drop-offs. I need to know what you know about the Hollow Bastion area."

"Hollow Bastion?" Pete frowned thoughtfully, scratching his chin for a moment before jabbing at a building block. "Well that's where I got most of my orders from. Had to go in this one abandoned building for them, found my next instructions on a table with money for whatever I did last. I also had to go here," he pointed toward another block on the map about a block away, "a few times. It was more of a factory, and I only went there at night because I think it was working during the day. I wasn't really any place where any one would visit often, probably why she picked the place."

"Did you ever talk to her personally?"

"A few times." Pete shuddered at the memory. "I never really got to see her face because she was always in shadow, but a map isn't going to help you here. She always found me wherever I was, appeared there like magic." He looked up at Leon with some concern. "Why do you want to know? You cops aren't thinking of goin' after her are you?"

"That's none of your concern. Do you have any more information about where she might frequent."

"I've got no idea. That building's the only place where I was told to go, but she might not be that far away."

"Why do you say that?"

"People have been hearing strange things in Hollow Bastion. Strange, creepy things. Even if you hadn't gotten me arrested, I'm not sure if I'd still be going back there."

"Good for you, you don't have to worry about making that decision. If you have nothing more to tell me then I'll get an officer back in here to take you back to the prison."

Pete nodded, looking almost relieved as Leon stood back up, still apparently nervous outside the safety of his cell even inside the police station. Collecting his things, Leon left the room, nodding toward the officer guarding the room to go ahead inside. Once back inside his own cubicle, Leon sighed and looked down at the map before reaching for his phone. He wasn't totally convinced but he was pretty sure but it looked like they had a good idea of where to start looking for Maleficent from what Pete had told him. If nothing else there might be some good clues of where to look next.

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	9. Chapter 9: Time to Strike

Chapter 9

Yay, I'm glad that people reviewed for my last chapter, even though not much action happened in it. It did have a purpose though, so now when all the action happens you'll hopefully be able to follow everything a little better now. Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers; Aindel S. Druida, Ivy J., ramen-is-my-goddess, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Poet Bucky, Cassie-san, Keira-93, yumie-darkness123, Kireilovesherkitty, -IvyBlonde-, sasukesgirl89, NightmareFairy, Yours For all Eternity, xBlackxAngelsx, -xLeon-Ada-x-, ooXloveXoo582, Scootkadoot, Hound Keeper. Thanks, dudes!

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With a sigh, Axel dropped down into his couch, resting his head in his hands. All-nighters were definitely not a good idea during a school week, especially not two in a row. Two nights ago, Riku had called him about the raven visiting his house. Last night, he and Zexion stayed up until the early morning recalculating everything on their map. With the information Leon had gleaned from Pete, they had been able to narrow down their search area to a single block; not too bad. But what with only a few naps throughout the day between classes to keep him going, Axel was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion but had never been more thankful for the cigarettes and caffine that kept him going.

Axel raised his head from his hands as he heard the doorbell ring. He stood up and walked over to the door, peering through the peephole quickly before he opened the door. "Dem, Zexion, and Namine, right on schedule."

As he stood back to let them into the house, Demyx laughed a little, patting him on the shoulder. "You look just as tired as I feel! But no worries, we're getting close to the end on this one! Right, Zexy?"

Zexion, who was looking no worse for wear, nodded. "Most likely. The map is as detailed as it ever needs to be. We came over to talk about what the next step of our plan was going to be."

"Come on. I know you already have a plan thought out, just tell us what it is so we can wrap this thing up."

"Alright…" Zexion moved over to the couch Axel had just been occupying and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "I was thinking that it would be best to strike back as early as possible. The longer this woman is around, the more energy she will consume. The rate of attacks has appeared to increase in fact, which is concerning in two ways. One, she is harming more innocent spirits and humans; and two, she is gaining more and more power. I propose we start our search of the one block area in Hollow Bastion tomorrow midday. Since tomorrow is Saturday none of us have interfering classes. Also, more people will be out, so our presence will seem less suspicious." He paused, his eyes flashing momentarily to Namine sitting across the table from him before he continued. "Demyx and I have talked about this, and we think it might be best…if Namine was to stay at our apartment during the search."

"What?!" Namine stood up, her normally gentle voice sharp. "Why can't I go? I am just as prepared for this as any of you!" She turned to her brother. "Demyx, you know I have the best spell-casting, why would you want me to stay at home when I could be helping to keep you safe instead?"

Demyx's voice was apologetic as he took her pale hand. "I know you're angry Nami, but try to look at it from my point of view. Hollow Bastion itself is a bad place to be in, especially for a pretty girl your age! And if that wasn't bad enough, we're going to try and fight that woman."

"Exactly, you might be fighting her, you don't have the strength to do that alone!"

"Namine." The young woman stilled at Zexion's quiet tone, her eyes shifting over to him. "What Demyx is trying to say is that we're not sure if we'll make it out of there in one piece. In the worst case scenario and something happens to us, we'll need someone on the outside who knows everything about what's going on. Now, I called Auron between classes and explained the situation to him. He'll be joining you at our apartment to wait for news of what happened. If we don't call, then at least there will be a powerful witch and demonologist who can try and pick up the pieces of where we left off."

Namine bit her lip, looking at all three of them in turn. When her gaze found him, Axel smiled, sending her a wink. "Hey, don't worry about us. There's a good chance we won't even find anything tomorrow, we'll probably need to keep searching the whole week. But even if we do happen to stumble across her, it's not like we'd just go down without a fight. You know Zexy, he's specialized at creating worst-case-scenarios, don't listen to his nonsense."

Grinning, Demyx added, "Axel's right! We're going to be fine. And we have a whole day to prepare, so you can load me up with all sorts of spells and talismans! I'll even let you draw a protection circle on me every day we go out looking. Fun, right?"

"Demyx…" Namine sighed, a sad smile on her face. "You can't be serious for more than two minutes, can you?" She sighed again when Demyx shook his head. "Fine. I'll stay with Auron. But if you don't call within an hour after you leave, we're coming to look for you."

"Sounds reasonable!" Demyx chirped. "And now that we have a set plan, it's time to have a sleepover at Axel's!"

"We better just be goddamn sleeping 'cause I'm not staying up to entertain you." Axel grumbled.

"Ha ha, duh! I'm running off of sugar and coffee right now!"

"I think we can all use a good night's sleep." Zexion murmured. "I'll set the alarm for ten."

"What, no family breakfast?"

Axel smirked as he shook his head. "Dem, you should know better. I've never gotten up willingly for breakfast in my life."

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Roxas didn't even bother to hide his disgruntled frown as he trudged down to breakfast. He was so not a morning person. He didn't even know how the whole 'let's-have-a-real-family-breakfast-on-the-weekend' thing started, but he certainly had never agreed to it. Glaring sleepily at a much too happy Sora, Roxas dropped down into the seat next to him and slowly began scooping food onto his plate. Across the table, Leon raised an amused eyebrow. "So Cloud, do you know if there's such a thing as a sleepwalker who can eat?"

Cloud smiled, tilting his head to the side in a mock-thoughtful manner. "Well, I've heard of a few rare cases where such a thing is possible, the symptoms do seem to show themselves most often among the teenage population."

"Ha, ha, hilarious." Sending his parents a sneer, Roxas resisted the urge to drop his head against the table and go back to sleep.

Sora smiled but patted his brother's shoulder sympathetically. "Roxas, if you're still tired from recovery, you can go back to bed if you want."

With a light sigh, Roxas forced himself to sit up, not wanting to worry his brother any more than he already had. "It's not that, just me being my regular self. Really, don't worry." Seeing that there was still some uncertainty in Sora's eyes, Roxas bumped his arm with his elbow. "Come on, like Cloud would really let me walk around if there was even a chance of relapsing."

"Speaking of which," Cloud said lightly as he took a sip of his coffee. "You're due at the hospital in a few days for another TB test. We want to make sure it's completely gone from your system before completely relaxing."

"Ya, ya…"

Rolling his eyes at Roxas's answer, Leon flicked through another page of the newspaper. "So besides that, what do we want to do this weekend?"

"Well, we could always go see a movie, or go to the beach-" Cloud was cut off by a shrill ringing from his pocket. Eyebrows furrowed, he dug out his cell phone, flipping it open after mouthing a silent apology to his family. "Dr. Strife here. Is this an emergency, because this is my day off. Oh, Vincent, what can I do for you?" There was a pause as the other person spoke, his face changing from confusion to surprise. "What? Three more? Of course Vincent, I'll be over as soon as I can. No, of course. Alright, see you soon."

Hanging up he stood up from the table, looking down as Leon caught his sleeve. "Problem at the hospital?"

"Yes." Cloud glanced over at Sora, Roxas, and Riku before frowning. "Apparently three more children were brought in by their parents early this morning, all three of them in comas. Their conditions have only gotten worse since they arrived and all the hospital staff is being pushed to its limitations with them and the rest of the patients. I'm sorry but I think they need me there."

Leon waved him off. "It's alright, Cloud, we understand. Just get over there and help save people."

Cloud looked down at Leon then smiled softly and leaned down to kiss his husband's cheek. "Thanks for understanding. I promise I'll make up for this loss of weekend tomorrow. We'll do whatever you guys want, promise."

"Whatever, go to work."

After a quick sprint upstairs to change in to his doctor's uniform, Cloud rushed out the door, the roar of his motorcycle a few seconds later indicating that he had left for the hospital. It wasn't such a strange thing to have him leaving at odd hours for his job, and so breakfast continued on as before. Once he was finished eating though, Sora stood up and pushed his chair back, a happy smile on his face. "I say we play videogames all day long!"

"That sure does sound exciting, Sora…" Roxas drawled. "But why do that when I can be out skateboarding instead?"

Setting down the newspaper to begin to collect dishes, Leon shook his head. "Sorry, Roxas. You know you're not supposed to be doing any strenuous physical activity until the end of the week. And that includes skateboarding."

"You're just worried that I'll beat your high score." Sora smirked at Roxas, his hands on his hips. "I've even been practicing, today is the day I beat you at your favorite game!"

With a muttered growl, Roxas chased Sora into the parlor as the other ran for the TV, leaving Riku and Leon in the dining room. After folding the newspaper under his arm, Riku helped Leon carry a few of the dishes in to the kitchen, speaking up after a moment. "So what are your plans for the day then, since those two will undoubtedly not emerge from the parlor until dinner?"

Leon frowned thoughtfully as he started to wash the dishes. "There are some things around the house that need fixing. I can work on that while Cloud's gone. I still wouldn't believe that the plumbing pipes are the same ones from when you and your father lived here if they weren't leaking so much…it'll probably take me a few hours just to figure out where all the leaks are and to get the supplies to fix them." His eyebrows furrowed as the house phone suddenly rang, looking down at his wet hands before he barked out. "Sora, Roxas, one of you get the phone!"

There was a muffled scuffle from outside the kitchen before Sora popped his head into view, the phone pressed against his chest. "Leon, it's Captain Highwind!" His voice dropped to a whisper, "He sounds really angry today."

"Alright, give me a second." Hurriedly wiping his hands off on a towel, Leon took the phone away from Sora. "Cid, what have I told you about scaring my kids? Calm down, I can't understand-what?!" Sora jumped as Leon almost shouted into the phone, his eyes wide as he moved over to Riku. It was only on rare occasions that Leon ever lost his composure, and it didn't bode well. "How the hell did that happen? How many got out? Damn it." Leon leaned forward against the counter, his fingers digging through his thick, brown hair. By this time, Roxas had come to investigate, the blond looking up with confusion at his older brother. Sora could only shake his head, equally in the dark. "Alright, give me ten minutes to get there. I'll run my lights the whole way there."

Leon hung up, slamming the phone down onto the tiled counter. He turned then blinked, as if realizing that the boys were still in the same room then scowled. "Riku, while I'm gone I don't want you opening the door for anyone you don't immediately recognize. None of you will leave the house without calling me first. Do you understand me?"

"Leon," Sora followed the older man out of the kitchen, the other two trailing after him as they watched Leon run up the stairs. "Leon? Dad!" Leon finally stopped, looking down at them from the second story landing.

"What is it Sora, I'm in a hurry."

"What's going on?"

"There's been a prison break. Somehow all the cell doors opened on their own and the prisoners just swarmed out of jail and onto the streets. Now we've got murderers, arsonists, rapists, and God knows what else running around Radiant Garden and if you three even step a foot out of this house you will be grounded until you die." Leon gave them all a warning glare before dashing off to his room for his uniform. Not a minute later, he was back out and running out the stairs. "I don't know how late I'll be, most likely it's going to be a long shift. If Cloud calls, tell him what's going on. There should be enough food to last you the day, but I don't want you ordering delivery. I don't care what you do, just don't leave the house."

In a state of shock as Leon left the house, Sora was the first one to come out of it. "What, what just happened?"

"There was a prison break out." Riku pursed his lips then shook his head. "There's nothing for it though, we should just do what Leon said and stay here." He smiled a little despite his worry. "Weren't you talking about playing your video game a moment ago, Sora?"

"Y-Yeah." Sora swallowed, looking over at Roxas before he smiled brightly. "You're right, Riku. It won't do any good to sit here worrying anyway, and I'm sure Cloud will be home sometime soon! Let's go back to the parlor, we can hang out there until someone gets home." He tugged on Roxas's sleeve, "Come on, we still have to figure out who can get the high score!"

Nodding, Roxas allowed himself to be pulled into the other room as Riku followed behind them. The silver-haired young man glanced at the door, his eyes narrowing before he lifted his arm, urging the deadbolt to fall in place wit a flick of his hand. He could tell that, despite his boyfriend's cheerful exterior, he was just as worried for Leon as Roxas was, but there really wasn't anything any of them could do about the situation. They couldn't be comfortable with what was going on, but at least they could pretend everything was normal if for nothing more than to keep each other calm.

Two and a half tense hours passed before the phone rang again. Roxas nearly lunged for it, scrambling for the talk button as he brought it up to his ear. "H-Hello?"

_"Roxas, is everything okay at home?"_

"Cloud!" Roxas sat up straight, sending a glance over at Sora and Riku who were both looking at him curiously. "Everything's fine here. Listen, Leon left-"

_"I know, Roxas, I called him a few minutes ago. That's why I'm calling you now. I don't have much time so I'll make this short. The prison break has caused some major panic in the downtown area, there are more car crashes than ever and there have been some shoot-outs trying to get prisoners under control. Leon's fine but our hospital rooms are getting flooded and I'm going to have to stay here for a few more hours."_ The sound of an intercom sounded in the background, the voice incomprehensible to Roxas but apparently it was calling Cloud because Cloud sighed a second later. _"I have to go. I'll try to find the time to call again soon."_

"Alright, bye." Roxas hung up a moment later then looked over at the other two, his face dark. "Cloud's going to be late too." Frowning, he drew his legs up to his chest. "Man, this sucks."

"It will be okay, Roxas. Leon and Cloud know what they're doing."

Suddenly, Sora's eyes widened. "Oh, I should call Kairi! She shouldn't be out in the city either!" He smiled worriedly as he reached for the phone, for the first time thankful that all his other friends had left the city for college. "Luckily she likes to sleep in on the weekend, she probably hasn't even gotten up yet."

Roxas frowned as Sora dialed Kairi's number, his mind drifting as he tightened his grip around his legs. Remembering that Hayner, Olette, and Pence were going to the beach today, he relaxed a little. However, he couldn't help but think of Axel and hope that the red head was staying safe. But then again, Axel was an idiot…

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Only ten minutes of searching and Axel could now distinctly remember why he never went into Hollow Bastion. It was dirty, smelly, and run down, some buildings literally crumbling down onto one another. It was almost worth the suffering though when they passed by another alley and Zexion almost gagged. Watching the other try to deal with his over-sensitive sense of smell was fairly entertaining.

Eyebrows furrowed, Zexion brought his sleeve up to cover his lower face, glaring down at the map in his other hand. "We're getting close to the right place, it's somewhere in that group of buildings up ahead."

Demyx grabbed onto Zexion's jacket as a man across the street gave them a strange look. "I'm glad we didn't bring Namine, but they're still looking at us."

"Of course they're looking at us. They've never seen us before and let's face it, it's not often college kids come into this area." Glancing back at the man across the street, Axel sent him a warning glare then looked over Zexion's shoulder at the map. "If it's those buildings up ahead, then it really does look like a factory; what Pete said was right. From what Leon's said about him, I'm halfway surprised."

Walking up to it, Axel's first impression of the factory was that it was just barely standing upright. There was a company name on the pad-locked front door, but the label was peeling and somewhat overshadowed by the colorful graffiti that was covering the rest of the door and wall. There were only a few windows on the first floor, but they were covered by heavy-duty bars that made it hard to look inside when Axel tried to take a peek. The abandoned building Pete must have been talking about was right next door, its bottom level also covered in graffiti and gang signs. Tentatively, Axel tested the door to the abandoned building and finding that it's wooden frame was giving a little, looked back at Demyx and Zexion. "What do you think, should we go in?"

"We came here to look around, so we should at least try to get inside." Zexion said.

"Alright, then stand back, I'm going to have to try to ram it with my shoulder."

Axel was about to run at the door when there was a sudden wail of a siren on the street directly behind them, causing the redhead to jump forward from surprise. Letting out a quiet squeak, Demyx whipped around and lifted his hands into the air when he saw a patrol car on the road. "A-Axel! They're going to arrest us for breaking and entering!"

"Relax," Zexion murmured, grabbing one of Demyx's arms and pulling it back down. "It's Mr. Strife's patrol car."

Axel brightened and sauntered over to the car, relieved when he saw that it really was Leon rolling his car window down. Despite the fact that the man wasn't looking too happy with them for whatever reason, Axel still grinned and leaned against the front door. "Leon, sir, what are you doing down here in good old Hollow Bastion?"

"Looking for escaped convicts. You?"

Axel's expression momentarily froze, his smug smirk falling off of his face. "…Con-victs…?" Chuckling weakly, he leaned down a little. "Come on Leon, what are you really doing here? If you have a problem with us going into private property, be assured that it's purely for ridding the world of a supernatural menace." His face fell again when Leon continued to look as stoic as ever. "What, seriously? There are escaped convicts running around?"

"There was a prison break a few hours ago and an entire cell block was let loose around this area. I'm surprised you didn't run into anyone on your way here. If you want I'll drive you back to your car so you can go back home."

"Hold onto that thought." Spinning around to face Demyx and Zexion, Axel asked. "So, what do you guys think? Should we go with him?"

"That would probably be a good idea." Zexion looked down at his messenger bag. "We're well prepared for fighting a supernatural being but I doubt if we could last long against a gang of desperate criminals." Demyx nodded his agreement and two minutes later all three of them found themselves in the back of Leon's patrol car.

Shifting around in an attempt to get his long legs into a comfortable position, Axel cracked a smirk. "Wow, I'd forgotten how cramped the back seats of these things were, it's been a while." He laughed at the expression Leon gave him from the review mirror. "Give me a break, Leon. I was sixteen, high, and had a packet of matches on me."

Beside him, Demyx giggled. "I remember that! You totally almost burned down the school! Except that, you know, the school was made of brick and didn't really burn, but the bushes in front were toast."

"Taught me if I ever wanted to do something right, I shouldn't get high before. Haven't done drugs since. Aren't you proud, Mr. Strife?"

"Indescribably." Leon muttered, fighting the urge to roll his eyes as Axel grinned back at him. On Demyx's other side, Zexion was shaking his head, looking as if he was trying to disappear. Apparently his high school years had been slightly less illegal than his fellow investigators'. Tightening his grip on his steering wheel, Leon allowed a moment of silence to pass before sighing. "I suppose it's good that I picked you up. I was going to try and call you anyway. Apparently the cell block that was let loose was the same one that Pete was staying in. We were able to look at the security footage and right before the moment of the jail break, the video went static then died. Of course I didn't say anything at the station, but it looked similar to what I've seen before when you were investigating our house."

Lifting his head, Zexion tilted his head to the side. "Curious. I'd like to see that footage for myself if possible but if your suspicions are right, then Pete himself could have been the target, perhaps under attack because of the information he gave us."

"Maybe we could follow you to the station or something because my van is right in that parking lot."

Leon frowned then pulled over with a screech of the car. "Alright. I won't be driving slow, so keep up if you can. I'll only have time to set you up in the media room before I need to get out patrolling, so I expect that you'll behave yourself at the station."

"Don't worry, Leon. We won't cause any trouble, right, Dem?"

Demyx nodded hurriedly, sending Leon such a big smile that it only made him more worried. But he didn't have much of a choice. Half of the escaped convicts were still running loose, and that included Pete. While Leon couldn't say that he exactly liked the man, he was a little worried about him. From what Demyx had told him, Maleficent sounded nothing but cruel and she probably wouldn't be kind to someone who had spilled information about her.

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Riku sighed as the ding of a timer echoed through the house, maneuvering his way out of the parlor without disturbing the television as he went to go get their so-called dinner. He liked the idea of frozen food, he really did, it made things easier to cook, but it never seemed to come out as good looking. Nevertheless, pizza was pizza and it was the only thing they could find in the house that would be considered dinner food. Pulling the pizza out of the oven, he grabbed a few plates from the cupboard then put it all on a large tray and brought it into a parlor. As he set the tray down on the coffee table, he glanced over at Sora and Roxas who were peering intently at their movie collection. "Have the two of you decided on what we're going to watch tonight?"

"It was a tie, so we're watching two!" Sora said, jumping onto the couch as Roxas popped the first one into the DVD player. "Hey, the pizza looks great, Riku, you really are a good cook!"

Riku raised an amused eyebrow, "Well, I am happy to say that I can read the back of a box fairly well, and know how to work an oven." He wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulders, pulling him closer as the smaller boy took a bite of his pizza. "I'm surprised you couldn't agree on which movie to watch, usually the two of you pick the same choice instantaneously."

Smiling sheepishly, Sora nuzzled a little deeper into Riku's hold. "It's not so much that we couldn't decide, it's just that we don't really want to go to sleep right after we finished the first one…"

"I understand." Riku rubbed Sora's arm comfortingly, smiling a little at Roxas. "I don't think Leon or Cloud will mind if we stay up a little later than usual."

Four hours later, both movies were over with and Riku found himself book-ended by two sleepy Strife boys. Sora was already asleep, Roxas at least was making some attempt to stay awake, though the blond's blinks were becoming longer and his yawns more common. Looking down at the clock and seeing that it was nearing midnight, Riku nudged his boyfriend gently before standing up. "Come on, we should go upstairs and go to bed."

Roxas shook his head as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "No, I-" his sentence was punctured by a yawn. "-I'm fine. I could stay awake for a few more hours easy."

With a smile, Riku put a hand on his hip. "I can tell." Roxas glared sleepily up at him and Riku tilted his head to the side. "Roxas, you are either going to fall asleep down here on the couch, or upstairs in your bed. I for one would much rather have you asleep in your bed and closer to the both of us just to stay safe. Now let's go upstairs and get ready for bed."

Reluctantly, Roxas silently agreed after a moment, standing up as Riku helped the half-asleep Sora get to his feet. It took only a few minutes for the three of them to get ready and soon all of them were in bed. Pulling the covers up to his and Sora's shoulders, Riku settled down as Sora let out a soft noise in his sleep, making Riku smile fondly. He combed his fingers through Sora's hair before closing his eyes.

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Riku was startled out of his sleep at a familiar and uncomfortable mental sting that told him something was wrong with the house. He almost felt his heart stop as he felt wood scraping against wood, the air thickened as if complaining against the movement. It was a window, someone was opening a window. Roxas's room! Tensing, Riku jumped out of bed, his footsteps silent as he crossed his floor, urging the door not to make a noise as he left the room. He was out in the hallway when he felt something enter through the window and come into Roxas's room. The intrusion caused Riku to bristle, a feeling of possessive fury entering him that he hadn't felt since he had been a ghost. That someone was daring to enter his house without permission was absolutely infuriating. The thought that it could be one of the escaped criminals also added a spark of wary fear to his steps, the idea too familiar to his own death.

Waving his hand, Riku forced the door open with a supernatural burst of force, his glowing aquamarine eyes widening at the sight of not a man but what looked to be a black piece of cloth lying on the middle of the floor in Roxas's room. Glancing at Roxas, who still seemed to be asleep in his bed and then at the open window, Riku bent down over the black cloth.

Reaching down, his fingers had just touched the fabric when it suddenly seemed to burst to life, coming up at him with a wild flapping noise. Riku let out a cry of surprise, falling backwards as that raven burst from the fabric, something long clutched in his talons. He bit his tongue as the raven landed on Roxas's footboard, the black creature turning to him with a gaze nothing less than haughty. Growling under his breath, Riku's gaze shot around the room before it fell on Roxas's desk and the pair of scissors. His eyes flashed and the scissors trembled and rattled against the table before they rose into the air, flying over to float by his head. Turning back to the raven, Riku scowled, his eyes leaving the thing for less than a second to check on Roxas who was somehow still asleep, though at this point Riku wasn't sure if it wasn't some sort of induced sleep. "Leave Roxas alone and get out of my house."

The bird shook his feathers then leaned down to grab the thing in his talons into his mouth, lifting it up. Under the moonlight, Riku could see that it looked like a long staff with a green crystal of some sort of one end.

The green inside, it was actually swirling, like some sort of mist. It was glowing, the yellow and green mixing together and twisting. Riku winced, trying to look away but finding that he couldn't. His eyes, his body wasn't obeying him any more. It was as if he had been frozen in place. As the pair of scissors clattered to the ground, he heard a voice from somewhere in the room; it could have been coming from right beside him and he couldn't have known.

"The plan has changed. Take them both."

Riku could only let out a strangled grunt as the crystal on the end of the staff began to glow brighter, the sight of the sick yellow-green light flooding the room. It was the last Riku saw before darkness crawled up the corners of his vision and engulfed him in black silence.

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	10. Chapter 10: To Be Ripped Apart

Chapter 10

Hey dudes! I apologize up front for this being a little late, but it's been a busy week and this chapter took some considering. In particular, I had to think of what sort of minions Maleficent would have. I wanted it to be different than 'Haunted', so instead of heartless-things, I took my cues from the original "Sleeping Beauty" movie. Just so you know. Otherwise it might seem a little random. So ya…Anyway, thanks to my awesome reviewers, who I'm overjoyed to say, stepped up and gave 28 reviews for that last chapter! Way to go, dudes! So thanks to: ramen-is-my-goddess, Ivy J., Cassie-san, Poet Bucky, Aly-Cooper, A-chan, NightmareFairy, ooXloveXoo582, BlueFox of the Moon, Takara Zizumea, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Kireilovesherkitty, Yours For all Eternity, Tinker16, yumie-darkness123, Hound Keeper, Scootkadoot, Mare Dragon, Bella, xBlackxAngelsx, DemonicxTears, -IvyBlonde-, sasukesgirl89, -xLeon-Ada-x-, Aindel S. Druida, Keira-93, SarahXxUnlovedxX, chibi heishi, Lady Stars. Thanks!

PS: I'm going to be going on a trip, so I'll be off-line for a little over two weeks. Going to South Dakota actually, fun times, but no internet access since I'm not bringing my computer. Sorry, dudes! T-T

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It was late in the morning when Sora finally woke up, stirring as the autumn sunlight filtering through the curtains hit his closed eyes. Murmuring incoherently, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The room was completely lit up golden by the morning sun, which caused Sora to look at the clock with confusion. 10:30? But he never slept in so late, Riku usually woke him up if he slept past 9:00. Sora rolled over and his eyebrows furrowed with more bewilderment. Riku wasn't in the bed or in the room. But the clothes he had laid out for today were still sitting untouched on the window seat.

Sora let out a hum of bemusement as he slipped out of bed, the wood floor and air cold despite its golden wash. He gave himself moment to adjust before padding out into the hallway. He was half expecting to hear Riku making breakfast or something, ready with some explanation as to why he had let Sora sleep in as late as he did, but there were no sounds coming from downstairs. Maybe Riku had gone outside for some reason?

Sora quickly made his way down the stairs and peered outside through a window. No sign of Riku, but the newspaper was still lying out on the driveway. So Riku wasn't cooking, wasn't dressed, and wasn't reading the newspaper? Sora frowned as he crossed his arms, rubbing the bare skin to try to fight against the cold air. His boyfriend was usually so predictable, sometimes even painfully so when it came to mornings.

Flustered but trying to keep the feeling buried, Sora walked back upstairs and knocked on Roxas's door. "Roxas?" His voice almost seemed to echo in the empty house, and Sora rapped on the door again, a little more insistently. "Roxas, are you in there? Do you know where Riku is or maybe-" at the last knock, the door swung open on its own; it hadn't even been closed all the way. Peeking in, Sora saw that the room was empty "- or maybe not." Blowing out a sigh of exasperation to mask his concern, Sora walked into the room. The room was tidy as usual, but a few things were slightly out of place. The pair of scissors Roxas usually kept on his desk was lying out in the middle of the floor and his bed was unmade. And the window was open.

Putting his hands on his hips, Sora shook his head. "Okay guys, funny. You hid on the roof to freak me out as punishment for sleeping in late. Hilarious." He walked over to the window and stuck his head out. "I would expect this from Roxas but not you, Ri-ku...? Where are you guys?"

No one was out on the roof. Biting his lip, Sora pulled himself back into the room. Had they left a note anywhere saying they would be doing something? A quick run around the house crushed that theory; there was no note, no messages on any of the phones, and there were no cars missing from the driveway except the car Leon drove to work, and of course Cloud's motorcycle. Pouting, Sora finally dropped down onto the couch in the parlor and wrapped his arms around himself. "Where did everyone go?!"

His mind trailed back to the open window in Roxas's room then to the night before. Were there any clues why they would leave the house? No, they weren't supposed to leave because Leon said that there had been a prison break. Suddenly Sora gasped. What if someone had broken into his brother's room last night?! Riku would have woken up, and then the criminals might have taken him too! What if something bad had happened to them? Could they have been fighting for their lives and just a room down he had just slept through it all?!

Scrambling for the phone, Sora dialed the first number he could think of; Leon's cell phone. He could feel his concern bridging into panic as the phone rang, mental images of what could have happened to Roxas and Riku racing through his head. By the time Leon picked up, he could barely pull himself together enough to speak properly.

"_Leon here_." There was an audible exhaustion to his voice, undoubtedly he had only gotten a little sleep in the police station, probably quick naps at his desk.

"D-Dad!"

"_Sora?"_ Leon's voice sharpened with worry at his son's tone. _"Sora, what's wrong?"_

"I, I just woke up and no one else is in the house and I think something might have happened to them because Roxas's window was open and I don't know where they are!"

_"What?!"_ Leon was wide awake at this point. "_They're gone?"_

"Y-Yes. I think, I think something happened last night. Riku hadn't even gotten dressed but he's not in the house and neither is Roxas!"

_"Okay. Stay calm, Sora. I'm coming over as quickly as I can but the streets are pretty clogged up with all the police blockades."_ There was a pause then Leon spoke up again. _"Call Axel, he's on the right side of the city. Get him to drive you somewhere else, don't wait for me to come and don't drive anywhere yourself, I don't want you in this traffic and I don't want you near that house alone, do you understand?"_

Sora swallowed then nodded. "Okay. I'll call him."

_"While you're waiting for him, go into the master bedroom. There should be a .22 caliber handgun in the side table on my side of the bed. Keep it with you until Axel gets there, alright?"_

Paling, Sora glanced up to the stairs. He hated picking up Leon's guns. But at least his dad had taught him how to handle them. "A-Alright."

_"Good. Now go upstairs."_

"Right. Bye, Leon."

Sora hung up, but kept the phone with him as he walked upstairs, thankful it was cordless. He opened the door to Cloud and Leon's room cautiously, even though he knew no one was inside. They didn't exactly forbid the boys from coming in, but it still seemed to be a little off limits in Sora's mind. The room itself was simple, nearly as immaculate as Roxas's but much more plain. Despite the white walls, Sora still maneuvered around the bed to Leon's side, obvious because of the book on the other side table. Cloud and Riku were the only ones in the family who actually read books for the sake of reading literature. Leon read the newspaper and whatever Cloud forced on him, but that was about it.

Taking a breath, still worried but having been calmed somewhat from talking to Leon, Sora dialed Axel's number as he opened the drawer, nestling the phone between his shoulder and cheek so that he could use both hands.

_"Land of the living dead, Axel speaking."_

"Axel, its Sora."

_"Sora? What are you calling me so early for? Is Roxas suddenly declaring his unending desire for me over breakfast or something?"_

"No, that's just it. Roxas and Riku are gone!"

_"…Wait, what?"_

Sighing worriedly, Sora shook his head as he pulled out Leon's gun. "Riku and Roxas aren't in the house! I can't find them anywhere but Roxas's window was open! I called Leon and he said I should call you. I was, I was hoping you could come pick me up maybe? It's just, I'm really confused and kind of scared and have no idea what happened!" As he said this, Sora realized that it was a fairly large favor to ask. And not at all pertaining to anything supernatural. More of a close-family-friend favor.

_"I'll be there in less than ten minutes."_

"Really? Thanks, Axel." Sora hung up then set the phone down on the side table before holding up the gun. He checked to make sure it was loaded with a single shot before grabbing a few more rounds and heading downstairs. He hated touching the gun, even now his hand was shaking a little at the thought of maybe having to fire it. But at least he had already inadvertently screened the house for any intruders when he had been looking for Riku or Roxas. Letting out a trembling little sigh, Sora went back to the couch in the parlor, curling up around a pillow. He wanted to know where his little brother was, if he was okay, if he was hurt or not. And he wanted them both back in the house, he wanted to be in Riku's arms right now, planning what to do for the day. Not sitting there wondering if some escaped prisoner had gotten to them.

The time passed quickly and sooner than he expected, Sora was startled by the sound of the doorbell. Biting his lip, he stood up, peeking out the window before he relaxed. Axel was waiting out on the porch. Sora quickly opened the door to let the tall red-head inside. "Axel!"

Axel frowned at the younger's visibly distressed state, still dressed in his pajamas, his hair mussed from sleep and his blue eyes wide. "Sora, what happened?"

"I…I don't know. Come on, I'll show you, maybe you can figure it out." He grabbed Axel's wrist and tugged him up the stairs. Axel followed obediently down the hall to Roxas's room. Sora stopped at the door, looking back at Axel. "What, what will happen if they were kidnapped or something?"

Axel tried to smile, placing a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay. They're smart kids, and you've got us and your dads, and you know they won't rest until we find them. I bet they'll be back home before you know it."

Sora bit his lip, but followed Axel as the red-head tentatively pushed open the door to Roxas's room. It was just as Sora had last seen it. Axel moved inside cautiously, walking around the room and looking at everything, as though trying to search for some hidden detail.

Sora walked in a few feet, glancing around. "Nothing is really out of place except for the scissors. That and Roxas always makes his bed, and its still messy, just like Riku's clothes were still on the window seat in our room. But don't you think it would be messier if Riku did walk in though? Wouldn't he have fought back?"

"Of course he would fight back. They would both have fought back. And damn well too. Maybe one of them grabbed the scissors for defense." Axel frowned, holding his hand up before he glanced around the room. "Do you know if you have a compass in the house?"

"Y-Ya, I have one in my room, from camping." Sora left the room for a second before coming back with it in hand. He gave it to Axel who thanked him quickly before crouching down over the pair of scissors, holding the compass over it. Curious, Sora crept over, leaning down over him as Axel frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Compasses are affected by magnetic fields. Not as well as EMF meters of course, but they're not bad. Magnetic fields can of course form around supernatural residue. See, the compass isn't pointing to true north anymore, something's interfering with its readings."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that Riku must have been using his connection with the house to try and fight with the scissors. Which means that someone _was_ here." He stood up suddenly, walking over to the window, his red spikes ruffling a little as the autumnal wind swept in the open window as he tested the frame with the compass. "The needle's going crazy around the window too."

"Riku…opened the window?"

"Maybe. But the needle's moving a lot more over here. If I didn't know better, I'd have to say that Riku didn't do this. I'm not sure if he still has the supernatural energy to create such a strong magnetic field. And then there's this, look." Leaning down, Axel pointed to the window sill, frowning. "There are scratches all around it, as if something had climbed in, maybe more than just one thing crawled in. Whoa!" He raised his arm up as a particularly strong gust of wind cut through the room, leaves scattering in. There was a bang as the wind slammed the door shut behind them, something that tended to happen in the house when the windows were open like it was now. Axel frowned, "I'd really like to close the window, but I probably shouldn't touch anything. Leon's coming over, right?" Sora nodded. "Well why don't you get dressed then I'll drive you wherever you need to go."

Sora agreed with another nod, turning around only to gasp sharply and grab onto the red-head's sleeve. "A-Axel! The, the door!"

Axel spun around, his green eyes widening. The raven symbol, the same one that had been in the asylum, had been struck onto the back of the door, singed into the wood as if it had been branded. Letting out a hiss between clenched teeth, Axel grabbed Sora's shoulder. "Come on, we're getting you out of here. Then Demyx, Zexion and I are going on a witch hunt."

Sora could only allow himself to be pulled out of the house, his mind having frozen at the sight of the symbol. What was Maleficent going to do with Roxas?! And what about Riku? Sora didn't know if he could handle it if either one of them got hurt, but both having been taken together was just too much. It would have been better if it _had_ been a criminal, at least then Roxas and Riku would have been able to defend themselves easier!

"Sora." Sora jumped, eyes and attention snapping up to Axel. "Where am I taking you?"

Sora swallowed and tried to collect his fractured thoughts. "Um, take me to…take me to Kairi's house. To Kairi. Please."

Axel's expression softened a little and he tightened his grip on Sora's shoulder as his voice lost its sharp edge. "Don't worry, kid. We're gong to do all we can to get Roxas and Riku back, you've got to believe me." When he got Sora to nod, he smiled. "Besides, this might not be such bad news. After all, we know pretty much exactly where to look for Mal-that woman." He caught himself, shaking his head as if to brush the mistake aside before continuing. "If it was some criminal, we would have no idea where to start searching. Now, you're going to have to help me with directions to Kairi's house, so I'm going to need you focused and with me on the trip, alright?"

Sora nodded again, glancing back once at the empty house before following the taller man out to his car.

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The first sensation Riku was aware of as he regained consciousness was the dull feeling of disconnect from the house. So they weren't on the Strife property anymore, but they hadn't been gone for too long if he wasn't feeling the effect of it too much yet. If he had to guess, he would say half a day at most. The next sensation was the overwhelming smell of damp concrete and rusting metal followed by the knowledge that he was most certainly in an uncomfortable position.

Forcing his eyes open, Riku warily scanned the area. He seemed to be in some sort of cage, the rest of the room dark so that he couldn't see far beyond the metal bars. He was indeed sitting on a cold metal floor, his arms twisted awkwardly behind his back, apparently tied together. Rubbing his wrists together experimentally, he found that although he was tied, the knots had been poorly tied, the rope becoming looser as he continued to move his wrists around.

After a few minutes he was able to slip one wrist out of its bonds and freed his arms. Rubbing the now raw skin around his hands, Riku crept forward to the edge of the cage, feeling more animal than human as he peered out into the dark. His head was throbbing from whatever magic had knocked him out in the first place, whatever had been in that crystal. His eyes widened as his memories caught up with him at the thought of the crystal; that's right, he had been in Roxas's room when he had met up with that raven. But where was Roxas?!

Riku looked around his cage, it was small, and he was definitely alone in it. But there were other cages around him, he could see the dull shine of them through the blackness. Pursing his lips, he called out tentatively. "Roxas? Roxas, can you hear me?"

There was silence for a second followed by a quiet noise, almost like a sniffle before a broken voice answered back. "N-No, he can't, he can't hear you…"

"Roxas?" Riku frowned, that had certainly sounded like Roxas, well, almost like the younger boy anyway. Closing his eyes as sudden understanding dawned over him, Riku tried again. "Rose, you can hear me, can't you?"

"Y-Yes."

"Are you okay? Is Roxas's body alright, has it been hurt?"

There was a sound like a muffled sob before Rose answered him. "Its, its fine. But the bird lady got us! She got us and she's going to eat us!"

"Don't say that, Rose. We are going to be fine. As long as we can keep our wits about us, we should be able to find a way out of this mess." Sitting up as best he could manage, Riku tucked a strand of silver hair behind his ear. "Can you come closer to my voice? It would make me feel better if I could see for myself that you were well."

There was a rustle of clothes against metal and a moment later Roxas crawled into view. He was a sad sight in Riku's eyes, his blond spikes drooping, blue eyes wide and innocent from his possessed state and tear tracks staining down his cheeks. Obviously Rose had realized their situation already as well as its severity. Hoping that he could pull the young ghost back from the brink of panic, Riku gave her a soft smile. "I don't suppose you have any ideas of how we got in here, or possibly even how to get out?"

Roxas sniffed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to clear away the tears before pointing shakily out toward the darkness. "Those things brought us here. This body wouldn't move. I tried to move as they took us out of the bed! I really did! And you weren't any help either."

Riku ignored the insult, brushing it off as he tried to make out any shapes in the dark where Roxas was pointing. "What things are you talking about, Rose?"

"Those things! The bird lady's monsters! Can't you hear them?"

Riku paused, trying to listen. Beyond their cages, he could here small scratching like those mice and rats would make when scuttling across the floor. He frowned, moving closer to the bars as he realized that the sound was actually the muffled sound of metal scraping against metal, his eyes narrowing a second later when a door off to the side of his vision burst open, light flooding one side of the room as something came inside. It was definitely the sound of something metal, almost like how armor sounded when on a body. But beside that metallic noise was also almost a grunting, like an animal. Wondering what could possibly be making those combination of sounds, Riku tried to crane his neck to see what had come into the room, but there were boxes blocking his vision, and try as he might, he couldn't see past them. The boxes weren't incredibly tall though, so either the thing was relatively short, or else it might also be invisible; anything was a possibility when dealing with unknown supernatural beings.

Frowning, Riku drew his courage together. Perhaps if this thing was intelligent enough to understand words, they could convince it to release them. "You there! Show yourself!"

There was a grunt followed by muttering and suddenly something that looked almost like a pike banged noisily against his cage, the thing holding the pike making Riku retreat faster than the weapon itself. Rose had been right. It certainly was some sort of monster, though demon might be a better description. In the dim light, it almost looked like some sort of pig, short and squat and dressed up in armor. "Silence." Its voice was low for its size, and it growled as it prodded into Riku's cage. "Noisy human. Don't know why we can't just kill you now."

Having been thoroughly silenced, Riku could only watch with wide eyes as the thing moved off again, disappearing past the row of boxes again. A moment later the shaft of light that had been provided from the open door was cut off with a loud slam, sending the room back into perpetual darkness.

It took a few moments but Riku was slowly able to properly order his thoughts again. Once he had gotten over the shock he looked again over to Roxas, or rather Rose. "And that was the thing that stole us from Roxas's room?"

"One of them."

Riku nodded blankly, eyes falling down to the metal floor. So they were in a slightly worse predicament than what he had first anticipated. It wasn't just one woman and her pet bird anymore; it was also a possible small army of hellish creatures. He let out a shaky sigh and rested his head in his hands. He was already getting a headache from his separation from the house. Undoubtedly his condition was only going to start to worsen exponentially which meant that he had to find a way out of this place as soon as he could. If not, he wouldn't be any help at all, quite the opposite really.

Time passed slowly in the cages. Riku wasn't sure how long it had been since they had been visited by that creature. It could have been two or even as much as six hours. Riku tried to keep his mind busy by thinking of how the others were reacting to their missing presence. Sora, he had just left Sora sleeping in their room. He didn't even know if his boyfriend was safe; heaven forbid he had been attacked after Riku had fallen unconscious. Riku shook his head at the thought. No, he would know if something had happened to his Sora. And thinking positively, if Sora had woken up to find the house empty, he probably would have panicked and called either Cloud or Leon, most likely Leon as he always had his cell phone with him while Cloud was rather isolated in the hospital. Once Sora called out, the others would know what to do. Hopefully they would have started to search for him and Roxas as soon as possible.

But how long would it take for them to be found? Riku looked at the old bars of his cage and moved over to one of its sides. He could at least try to escape. Grabbing the bars, he shook them experimentally. They rattled a little, but remained strong.

"Well, quite the escape attempt. I'm surprised you aren't halfway home already."

Riku's head snapped up at the mocking voice, his eyes widening a fraction when they fell on a figure that certainly had not been there a moment before and immediately Riku knew that this must be Maleficent. She was wearing the same black cloak that had been on the floor of Roxas's room, the high collar and her horned headdress making her look like a true black witch, like something Riku would have seen depicted in story books from his old time. Her skin seemed to almost be a pale green, though Riku couldn't tell if that was due to the light coming from her staff. Either way, this woman emanated with evil, just as Xemnas had, the intensity of it making Riku want to instinctively shrink back. But he held his ground, if not for dignity than for keeping a calm front for Rose's sake.

"I must say I was surprised to sense the two of you. I really felt quite amused to learn that the one little girl who had escaped my grasp would have led me to such an interesting find." She moved forward, her cloak scratching across the concrete floor as she approached Riku's cage. "Imagine, a boy who had returned to life from a death over a hundred years in the making. Simply extraordinary."

Riku could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the woman looked down at him with her green eyes but attempted to match her gaze. She only laughed at the sight. "And one so spirited as well. The two of us are quite similar. Both of us live off of borrowed time, though I seem to be the only one willing to go to all lengths to achieve my immortality."

Riku's eyes narrowed and he spit out. "And for that I am thankful. No life is worth the price of the unwilling sacrifice of another's, especially not a repulsive sham of a life such as your own. I would rather live one life with those I love than live for eternity as a monster."

"What a well-mannered speech for a well-meaning hypocrite." She saw Riku's eyes narrow with confusion and laughed again. "But could it be that you truly don't know your own faults? Simply wonderful. I will perhaps tell you one day, when I feel the need." She suddenly straightened up, "Oh, but I musn't get ahead of myself, there are more pressing matters at hand."

She turned to Roxas's cage, the hand resting around her staff tightening its grip as Roxas looked up at her with child-like terror. "Now, for some unfinished business. It cost me quite a bit of energy to find you. But will be worth it to be replenished by your energy." She turned her head slightly to Riku, as if addressing him. "Children, you see, contain the greatest energy among the living, but a ghost child is better still. Their souls have connected with the supernatural world and they can absorb that power with boundless energy." Reaching into the cage, she took Roxas's chin into her hand, her long nails scratching his face. "This little girl is a perfect example of such a child."

"Leave them alone!"

"Such gallantry. But alas, it will be for naught." Maleficent struck her staff against the concrete floor, the sound echoing through the room as Riku watched the staff begin to glow again. He frowned, hands wrapped around the bars as he could only watch Roxas squirm against the glow as Maleficent lowered her staff down to touch the boy's forehead. "I can only hope this will not damage the boy," she said lightly, her voice still holding that infuriating mockery. "He might be of use later on." Riku growled but she continued regardless. "Condemned child, relinquish your soul so that I may live unassailable and whole."

Riku had to cover his ears, his eyes watering as Roxas let out an anguished scream, the sound turning into a child's shriek as a light was ripped out of the boy's chest. The glow was sucked into Maleficent's staff and Roxas's hand flew to his chest, his voice hoarse as he screamed again. Pressing against his own bars, Riku addressed him quickly, pausing only to send Maleficent a hateful glare as she walked off. "Roxas, Roxas, listen to me! I know it hurts, but just breathe, concentrate on breathing."

Sucking in a shuddering breath, Roxas pounded his fist against the metal floor of his cage to distract himself. It felt as though his chest had been torn open, though the pain was nothing to what he had felt just a second ago it was still unbearable. He could only try to obey Riku's insistent commands, his head spinning as he struggled to handle the fire ripping through his body.

"That's good, good. Keep breathing. The pain will lessen, I promise. Breathe."

Sucking air in through clenched teeth, Roxas looked up at Riku through his blond spikes. "What, what the hell…happened?"

"That witch forcibly removed Rose from your body. Since the girl was undoubtedly holding tightly onto you, it was bound to be violent, for both you and her. I can only imagine what it would be like."

"It hurts." Roxas inhaled a shaky gasp, "It hurts so bad."

"I know. You're doing so well though."

Looking up again, Roxas finally got a good look at their surroundings. "Where, where are we?"

"We are in that woman's clutches. I don't know where we are, but it is far from home." Shifting, Riku frowned sympathetically. "Get some rest if you can, Roxas, and try to recover from your pain. I will try to protect you, but I have a feeling this will not be the end of it."

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	11. Chapter 11: To Be at Fault

Chapter 11

Well, I'm back from my trip. It was fun, saw monumental things, got stuck on the train for six extra hours. All in all, pretty awesome. But anyway, back to what should really matter here, the story! I got a bunch of reviews for the last chapter, so thanks go out to: SarahXxUnlovedxX, Ivy J., chibi heishi, Poet Bucky, ramen-is-my-goddess, Keira-93, xBlackxAngelsx, Takara Zizumea, BlueFox of the Moon, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, DemonicxTears, Yours For all Eternity, Aindel S. Druida, ooXloveXoo582, Scootkadoot, yumie-darkness123, -xLeon-Ada-x-, Miah The Storm Wolf, Lady Stars, Crimson wounds. I seriously appreciate all of your reviews, short or long. It's cool just to hear what people think about the story. You dudes are the inspirational muse of my creativity, and get me off my lazy butt to write. Just FYI. ;)

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Kairi immediately ushered Sora into her house after Axel dropped him off, the older man staying only long enough to make sure Sora got safely in the door before roaring off toward his apartment. Taking her anxious friend by the hand, Kairi led Sora into her family's sitting room, sitting him down onto the couch with a gentle push on his shoulder. Sora was barely paying attention, in fact the drive to the house was itself just a dim blur of streets twisting and turning, shock having caught him in its icy grip long ago.

Sora snapped out of his trance-like state as Kairi made to pull away and quickly grabbed her hand, his blue eyes wide. "Kairi…what, what am I going to do?" He whispered brokenly.

Kairi frowned with confusion but sat beside him. "Sora, you're going to have to tell me what's going on. What's wrong, why aren't you at home with Roxas and Riku?" She searched his eyes with her violet gaze. "Did something happen?"

Sora nodded then swallowed thickly. His throat felt constricted. His head was foggy from muffled panic as he tried to pull himself together enough to speak. "I, I think something really bad might have happened to them, Kairi." His voice had cracked but they both ignored it as he continued. "They've been taken by someone who might do horrible things to them. I was just sleeping and they were taken away! I should have woken up. I could have done something to help them. But I just slept through it!" His chest heaved with choked-up tears that began to fall freely down his cheeks as Kairi pulled him into a hug.

Kairi rubbed Sora's back comfortingly, waiting until he had wiped a few of his tears away with the back of his hand before deciding to ask another question. Sora had never appreciated her sensitivity more, and tried to control his shuddering breaths. "Sora, it's not your fault. I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it sounds like you wouldn't have been able to do anything, even if you had been awake. It would take a lot to take down both Roxas and Riku." She paused for a movement, her eyebrows drawing together. "…Who took them, do you know?"

Sora nodded again, taking a deep breath. "Yes. It was a woman. Well, kind of a woman. You, you remember what I told you about Riku?" He looked up at Kairi with a slightly guarded expression. He had told her everything about what had happened two years ago, about how Riku came to live with them, but still, he wasn't sure how much of it she had actually believed at the time. Kairi nodded though, her face showing no skepticism, simply a concerned curiosity, so he decided to continue. "Well, she's sort of like what he was, except she hurts people, she's already hurt a lot of kids, and a lot of ghosts. I don't know what she's going to do with Roxas and Riku, but it's not going to be good. I just, I don't know what I'll do if anything were to happen to them, to either of them!" A new wave of panic flooded over him as he once again spiraled back into imagining all sorts of things that could have been happening to his family members.

Frowning, Kairi rubbed his back again, trying to comfort her best friend as well as she could. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I mean, if she's like Riku, then Riku will probably know how to deal with her, right? I'm sure he'll keep himself and Roxas as safe as he can. And I'm sure both of them are happy that you didn't wake up."

Sora sniffed, a quiet hiccup smothering the last few of his tears. "Why do you say that?"

Kairi smiled sadly, squeezing his shoulder. "Because then you would be with them, in whatever danger they are in. And you know how protective both of them are of you. Since you're safe and sound, they'll be able to think clearly, and that's good, right?"

"Right." Sniffing once more, Sora managed a shaky smile. "How'd you get so smart?"

Kairi winked, smirking as she lifted a schooling finger. "I'm a girl, Sora. We mature much faster as young adults and so are obviously much smarter."

"Heh, keep telling yourself that…Besides, I know guys who are just as smart, like Riku. And then Zexion's like a genius or something."

Smiling as Sora visibly pulled himself out of depression and started to act more like his normal self, Kairi playfully stuck out her tongue. "Well they're exceptions to the rule. Riku's cheating since he's been around for so many years and from what I've heard about your ghost hunting friends, Zexion's just freakishly smart, so that's not fair either." Her smile broadened a little as Sora actually chuckled. "So you see, you've got a lot of smart people on your side. Everything will turn out fine with everyone working together."

"Yeah…" Sora swallowed then nodded more determinedly. "You're right. Everything's going to be fine. Roxas and Riku are going to come back unhurt and probably, probably teasing me for being so freaked out." He deflated a little, his smile sickening as he glanced over at Kairi. "I just hope they come home soon…"

"Oh, Sora." Sighing, Kairi wrapped an arm loosely around the young man's shoulders and squeezed lightly. "I'm sure they'll be back soon. You just have to be patient, and remember that there are a lot of people who want Riku and Roxas back safely. Everyone will do their best."

OoOoOoO

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Demyx nearly dropped his guitar from surprise when the door to their apartment suddenly slammed open, his eyes widening as Axel stormed inside, the red-head's green eyes narrowed with dangerous determination. Rolling off of the couch, Demyx propped the instrument up against the arm of the couch and ran a hand through his hair. "H-Hey, Axel, what's up? Something wrong?"

"Are Zexion and Namine home?"

"Ya, should be anyway. Want me to go get them?"

Axel nodded curtly and Demyx scurried off to fetch the other two, more than glad to be getting out of the way of the other's dark expression. Within a few minutes he had flushed Zexion and Namine out of their respective rooms. Zexion was wearing a mildly annoyed expression, apparently having been interrupted from reading the thick Latin tome tucked under his arm. "What's this about, Axel?"

Axel crossed his arms. "We need to speed up our searching. Last night Roxas and Riku were spirited away from their house, that witch's symbol on the back of the kid's door." He continued on despite Namine's slight gasp of shock and Demyx's paling face. We need to find them now, before she can do anything to them."

"Of course." Ever calm in any situation, Zexion set his book down on their dining table. "We will head out as soon as we can. Do you have your things in the back of your van?" Axel nodded tightly and Zexion turned to Demyx and Namine. "Good. You two get your things together, we'll meet you outside in a few minutes." This last part was said to a quick glance over to Axel. "We'll be quick."

Axel nodded again and walked out of the apartment. When he reached his van, he walked around it and opened the back doors. As he grabbed the box that held his gear, he could see that his hands were trembling violently. He cursed, fumbling in his pocket for a cigarette and a lighter. Finding both, he quickly lit up, his eyebrows furrowing as the first drag on the cigarette did nothing to calm him. "Shit," he muttered. If anything had happened to Roxas…he should have known this was going to happen, that damn bird had been seen outside the Strife house! He should have taken action. He had acted strong while he was with Sora at the house but he was worried. Really worried. Those scratches on the window sill had looked long and nasty. If that had just been the beginning of what Roxas and Riku had to go up against, they were probably in real trouble right now. Growling low, Axel slammed a fist against the car door, the old metal creaking and denting under his blow. "Damn it." If Roxas wasn't okay…

Axel shook his head, growling again before pulling out his long black coat from the box and quickly throwing it on. Demyx and Namine had gotten one for all of them, even though Axel was the one who wore his with the most consistency, the entire thing lined with protection charms and the like designed specifically for going up against ghosts. He pulled on his gloves with jerky motions, swallowing hard before slipping a few investigating instruments into his pockets. He wanted everything to be quickly on-hand when they reached that broken down building. One minute of hesitation or searching for some thing would mean one more moment of Roxas being in that witch's grasp, and like hell would he let that happen.

"Axel." Axel's head snapped up, straightening up as he saw Zexion standing next to him, Demyx and Namine waiting by the side door of the van. "Are you ready to go? I called Leon. He said that he and Cloud were going to be waiting out front of the building for us. They want to help search."

Nodding absently, not really listening, Axel dropped his cigarette on the ground, grinding the ashes out with his boot before hurrying to the front door. He started the car, the engine squealing in protest as he violently shifted gears. Just as he was about to pull out, a hand on his shoulder caused him to pause, and he turned to see Demyx leaning forward from the middle seat. "What is it, Demyx?"

Demyx only frowned lightly at the harsh tone. "Axel, I know you're worried. We all are. But you can't act like this. If we don't keep our heads cool, something's going to get messed up, and that could hurt all of us, and maybe even hurt our chances of helping Roxas and Riku."

"I know that, Dem." Axel muttered, his eyes snapping back to the road as he pulled out of the parking lot. He took a deep breath. "I'll try to keep in mind anyway."

"Good! That's all I'm asking for. Now let's go find them!" Demyx pumped his fist up into the air and Axel tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Leon and Cloud better be at the building when they get there, because he wasn't going to wait for them before forcing his way in.

OoOoOoO

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A few minutes ago, Cloud had gotten a call from Leon telling him to meet the others down in Hollow Bastion. It wasn't his favorite part of the city, but if that's where Roxas and Riku were, that was where they were going to go. Now he just had to sneak out of the hospital.

Cloud smiled as he caught sight of Vincent and he loudly called the man over. "Vincent, there you are, I was wondering if we could go to your car so I could get that file I was asking you about earlier."

Vincent's red eyes narrowed, his expression searching as though trying to figure out what Cloud wanted as he slowly nodded, glancing over at a nurse who was hurrying down the hall before moving closer to Cloud, his voice low. "What are you up to, Strife?"

Cloud smile turned sheepish. "I really need to get out of here, Vincent." The smile fell as they headed toward the front doors, walking quickly. "My kids are in trouble. I need to get to them as quickly as possible and I really don't think that the boss is going to let me out without at least filling out an hour-worth of paperwork."

"So you want to sneak out and thus push all of the paperwork onto my desk?" Vincent asked, his expression blank. Cloud's shoulders slumped a little and Vincent shook his head. "Fine. But I expect to be repaid in full. Twelve hours in the free clinic should suffice."

Cloud rolled his eyes but agreed to the terms. They passed through the front doors of the hospital without being distracted, although Cloud had had to repeat his supposed mission to go to Vincent's car to the hospital supervisor before he let them leave. As soon as they were outside the doors, Cloud stripped off his doctor's coat, throwing it over his arm as they walked over to Vincent's car, which just happened to be right beside Cloud's motorcycle in the parking area reserved for doctors. "Vincent, can I keep my coat in your car while I'm gone?"

"If you must." Vincent unlocked his car then stilled as something caught his attention over Cloud's shoulder, his eyes locked on the object. Frowning, Cloud turned around to see what he was looking at. It was someone running almost comically fast across the parking lot, barreling toward the hospital at high speed. He recognized that someone actually. It was that man that they had seen at the asylum. It was Pete.

Cloud's eyes widened as Pete spotted them and ran over. The overweight man's clothes were old and worn looking, though they weren't the prison uniforms. Like a lot of the escaped convicts, he must have found a way to get a change of clothes from somewhere. As soon as he was within ear shot, he called out frantically. "You've gotta help me, there's these things trying to kill me!"

"Hold on." Cloud caught the man by the arm, nearly having to support him completely as Pete wheezed, reaching up to wipe his heavily sweaty brow. "Who's trying to kill you?"

"Those little armored things, they're all over the place! Haven't gotten to sit down for hours!"

Cloud glanced back at Vincent who was for whatever reason searching for something below the back seat of his car then turned his attention back to Pete. The other man clearly didn't recognize Cloud by the way that he was grabbing onto him. Of course, the two of them had never officially met face to face, so it wasn't surprising. Not sure if the man was telling the truth or suffering from some sort of symptom of shock or something, Cloud quickly looked the man over. His eyes had a wild, hunted look to them, but besides that and all the sweat, he looked healthy enough.

Suddenly a sound caught his attention behind him, the noise something like a clanking at a running pace. Before he could turn around though, Vincent had straightened back up, and Cloud couldn't help but stare.

Well, stare at the massive handgun in the man's grasp that Vincent was now pointing over his shoulder.

Cloud only had time to throw his hands over his ears before Vincent fired the weapon, the blast rattling Cloud's body. Stunned, Cloud stared at Vincent. "What-What the hell…?!"

Vincent calmly lowered the gun, taking the time to reload it as Cloud spun around in time to see something turning to dust, the ash twisting away in the wind. As the dust fell away another clattering sounded from behind a car parked not a few feet away, Cloud's neon-blue eyes widening when something small and armed ran out, charging them with what looked to be a battle axe. This time he knew to jump to the side as Vincent fired again. The bullet hit the creature square in the forehead. It looked momentarily surprised for perhaps half a second before suddenly disappearing into a pile of ash.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Cloud turned back to stare at Vincent. He knew Vincent went to the gun range sometimes, Leon saw him there once in a while, but he never knew Vincent actually kept his gun in the car. "Where did you, why do you even have that thing?"

Vincent shrugged slightly, placing the gun back into the car. "It comes in handy every once in a while, as you have seen. I suppose those were the things that were trying to kill this man though?"

Cloud looked back to Pete who had gone deathly pale, looking just as shocked as Cloud had felt a moment ago. Tilting his head to the side, Cloud motioned to Vincent. "Could you take him inside the hospital for me? Put him in one of the isolation rooms for now, for his own safety."

Vincent nodded, grabbing Pete by the shoulder as Could grabbed his goggles. As Cloud got up on his motorcycle, Vincent turned back to glance at him curiously. "You will eventually tell me about what's going on? The truth?"

Cloud frowned, starting up the bike. "Maybe, Vincent. Eventually. When I know you'll believe me. I'm sorry for making you wait."

"I've been waiting for two years now since the curiosities started, I can probably wait a while longer. But you may be surprised what I will believe."

Cloud nodded, watching as Vincent steered Pete back to the front doors, before revving his engine and speeding off toward the old center of the city, Hallow Bastion.

The roads were hard to navigate. The police had set up blockades every few intersections and were randomly stopping cars to check the identity of who was inside. With so many criminals still on the loose, all of Radiant Garden was pretty much locked down, the roads heading outside of the city even harder to get through than the ones inside. Luckily, he was only one man on a motorcycle and had identification on him, so it was fairly easy for him to slip through all of the congestion and mess of cars. It also helped that a good portion of the officers on duty recognized him on sight as someone connected to Leon and let him through their checkpoints with minimal questions.

It still took twenty-five minutes for the normally ten minute drive, and by the time Cloud pulled into a small parking lot, Leon's patrol car and Axel's van were already parked and waiting. Cloud jumped off of his bike and hurried over to where the others were gathered, lifting his goggles up away from his eyes as he approached them. "I'm sorry, was I late?"

Demyx shook his head, a small smile on his face despite the situation. "Nope! We just got here too, so you're right on time."

Axel had his arms crossed tightly across his chest; Cloud couldn't tell if he was angry with something or trying to hold himself together as the red-head spoke up sharply. "Come on, we're wasting time standing around now that everyone's here."

Cloud fell in line with Leon as they started walking, touching the other man's arm lightly when he saw Leon's darkened expression. "So there was no sign of struggle at the house?"

Leon shook his head. "None. Only a pair of scissors on the ground, but they looked as if they hadn't even been used. Whatever it was that kidnapped them, it must have been fast enough to strike before Riku could have reacted." Leon paused then turned sharply to Cloud. "Do you have any sort of weapon with you?"

Cloud patted his pocket. "I've got my pocket knife like always. But as for what took them, I think I might have a fairly good idea. Pete showed up at the hospital being chased by these…creature things wearing metal armor."

"Did they hurt you?"

"No, they never got the chance. But they were armed." Cloud frowned looking up at the crumbling series of buildings around him. "And if they're here, we might be in a little over our heads."

"Roxas and Riku better be taking care of themselves…"

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Roxas leaned back against the bars of his cage, closing his eyes as he rubbed his still-aching chest. The pain had dulled somewhat, now it only felt as though he had been stabbed rather shallowly in the chest. So it still hurt like hell, but he was trying hard to ignore it, though it was especially hard considering there was very little to keep his mind occupied in his cage. At least he had it better off than Riku; as his pain was slowly going away, Riku's was just getting worse.

Roxas frowned at the thought and twisted his head around to get a better view of the other cage. He could just barely make out Riku's silver hair resting against the other side of the bars, and a chest that was rising and falling much too slowly to be healthy. "Riku," he whispered, trying to be quiet so that those armored animals wouldn't come back. They had a few times when he had been too noisy, and one had jabbed a spear dangerously close to Roxas's leg. Pursing his lips when Riku failed to even twitch at the sound of his name, Roxas scooted as close as he could to the edge of the cage. "Riku, can you hear me?" He scowled as there was still no movement and grabbed onto the bars of his cage. "Look Riku, you're going to have to give me some sign of life. You're not going to be able to protect me like you promised if you go and die. And I'm not explaining your death to Sora, he'd probably disown me."

Finally, a weak chuckle from the other side. "He wouldn't disown you." The voice was weak, but at least Riku was still conscious. Roxas could settle for that. "He's far too kind for that."

"Ya, well, he wouldn't be happy about it."

"…How are you feeling? Any better?"

One of Roxas's hands fell away from the bars and pressed against his chest again. "It, feels better, sort of. But you're the one we need to worry about. You look pretty bad for only being a day away from the house."

Riku chuckled again then grunted softly as he forced himself up onto into a better sitting position. "I feel rather worse off than normal too."

"H-Hey, don't try to move around on my account. If you're feeling sick, just save your energy." Roxas bit his lip as Riku still pressed on, even the small movement of just sitting up appeared to have exhausted the older boy. And he did look pale, paler even than his normal porcelain skin tone. Even his usual glowing aquamarine eyes had also dulled to a sickly pale color. In the dark, from Roxas's angle, he could have very well have been a ghost again. "We need to get you out of here, Riku."

"Both of us need to leave…" Riku let out a long sigh, reaching up to touch his temple, a small hiss escaping him. "But yes, I really should get back to the house-" He cut himself off as a screech of a door being opened echoed through the room. A second later they were both blinded by light streaming in, a rhythmic tap rippling across the concrete floor. Shielding his eyes from the glare, Roxas swallowed when he caught sight of the source of the tap. It was that staff hitting the ground; Maleficent was back. He fought his instinct to curl up in the back of his cage like a beaten dog and looked across to Riku who had a dark scowl on his face.

"My, my, the two of you appear to be taking to your accommodations well." Maleficent looked down at them both then knelt down to look into Roxas's cage. "Wallowing here in the dark like animals. I would have thought you would have had more dignity and grace. Nevertheless, you will be put to use in the end."

Roxas grit his teeth as Maleficent reached to him, relief flooding every pore of his body when Riku called out to the witch. "What do you even want with us? You have that child's soul; we have nothing left to offer you."

Maleficent blinked, a smirk pulling at her lips as she stood up and turned around. "Perhaps the boy doesn't, but a curiosity such as yourself is quite rare." She motioned with her hand and the closest side of Riku's cage suddenly disappeared, as if it had been insubstantial the entire time. "Come, let us speak in a more civilized location."

Riku didn't move though, his body rigid as he glared up at her. "Don't think that I'm stupid, I will not leave Roxas behind."

"My dear boy," Maleficent put a hand to her chest, as if she had been genuinely affronted. A second later though, her expression relaxed back to its sinister tone, "I wouldn't dream of harming him, and my minions will touch no one without my orders. Roxas will be left alone, completely."

Riku frowned, clenching his fist as he looked over at Roxas. He didn't want to abandon the blond teen, but if he refused Maleficent now, she might very well attack them for disobedience. Besides, if he kept her in his sight the entire time, he would always be able to be on guard, and surely he would notice if she tried to send some of her goons to hurt Roxas. And perhaps if he could speak with her, he could reason with her to release them. It was worth a shot anyway.

With a quiet grunt, Riku pulled himself up and out of the cage. The cramped quarters had not been good for his body, and protests down to his very bones followed him as he attempted to straighten out. Tottering up, he quickly put a hand out to steady himself. He was not going to look any weaker in front of this woman if he had any say in the matter. Maleficent only nodded though, either ignorant of his connection to the home that was pulling fiercely at his soul or completely uncaring. It was probably the latter. As she led the way toward the light of the open door, Riku forced his body down into a crouch in front of Roxas's cage. He grabbed Roxas's hand in his own, inwardly shocked by how warm it was but ignoring that detail for the moment. "I am sorry to leave you alone, but I will try as hard as I can to get you out. Be careful while I am away."

Roxas shook his head. "You're the one who has to be careful, who knows what she wants with you. She already said she'll leave me alone so just, watch out for yourself. Axel," he paused for a second then caught himself, "Axel is coming soon with the others, right? So I'll be okay if she's just going to let me sit here. I can handle the dark for a bit."

Riku nodded, wincing as he stood back up. His spirit sank a little when he saw just how far the walk was to the open door but he moved forward anyway, trying to catch up with Maleficent. She didn't wait for him but swept through the blinding door without him. Riku approached it cautiously, his eyes narrowed as they tried to adjust back to the light. He was slightly hesitant about going in, hesitant about what he might find, but he steeled himself for the worst and walked in anyway.

The door slammed shut behind him on its own, its bang leaving a hollow silence in its wake. As Riku became accustomed to the light, he was able to see that its source was a series of oil lamp, the scent of the burning liquid familiar from his older days. They burned with unnatural brightness though, casting light onto a room decorated in rich fabrics and dark wood, the entire thing looking as though it came from some medieval castle.

"Sit down." Maleficent motioned to a high backed chair. "I can sense your exhaustion." Riku warily did as he was told, keeping his eyes on her the entire time. In truth though, the wood did feel nice, soft even after sitting on metal for so long. "But you must be wondering why you are so tired. You have lasted far longer away from your home."

Riku frowned, lifting his chin so that he could meet her gaze. "How do you know so much about me? About what happened two years ago when you arrived only a few months ago."

"I have my sources."

"There are no sources." Riku's frown deepened. "There were only a few people involved, and none of them would have told a parasite like you."

"None of them would have?" Maleficent smirked as she took a seat across from him. "Not one? Are you so sure you have accounted for everyone?"

Riku paused, his mind racing. Axel, Zexion, Namine, Leon, Cloud, Roxas, Sora, Auron, perhaps Lexeus, maybe Kairi. There just weren't that many people. And those that knew his story could certainly be trusted.

"I'll give you a hint." Her hand reached up to touch the crystal on the staff as her voice quickened to a more business-like pace. "Three months ago when I was resurrected from my slumber I began to collect ghosts to regain my power. I began with those who were wandering, those who were without a home, those who had been evicted from their homes and were not allowed to ever return."

Her eyes fell on Riku again and he could fell his pulse begin to speed up as he stared at the glowing crystal, seeing the green flowing around inside it for what seemed to be the first time. Then, something clicked, and an uncontrollable shudder shot down his spine. There was one more person, no, creature, who knew of his past. "Xemnas."

"A surprisingly strong spirit for a wandering ghost. I was just as surprised to stumble across him, and grew intrigued when he told me of you, hoping I would forgo him in favor of a greater prize. He was of course mistaken. I had thought that he might have been lying to me but now I see that in fact, he was telling the truth. Riku, the boy brought back by the true love of a mortal and the fortunate mistake of two inexperienced witchlings." Riku had bristled slightly when she had mentioned Sora, but she caught it. "Sora, I believe his name was, wasn't it? It is interesting you return his love when he is the reason why you are feeling so ill right now."

Glaring at her, Riku sat up straighter. "The reason I am feeling so 'ill' is not because of Sora. It is because you have disconnected me from my property. It is a condition of my new life which I endure because of Sora's affections."

"Your connection to your home was the reason you were able to stay in this world in spirit. But the reason you were able to return as flesh and blood is because you connected yourself to a human, a certain human who in fact loves you with all his heart. You are fading so quickly because you have been separated not only from your home, but also your heart. You must be in close proximity to both in order to survive."

Riku swallowed as his heart found its way up into his throat. He couldn't breathe, couldn't be hearing her correctly. "But, at the hospital, I was able to function for nearly a week-"

"And let me guess who was constantly at your side, sitting by your bed and watching over your every breath. Could it perhaps have been Sora?" Riku's expression turned blank and Maleficent tapped her staff once on the ground. "So you understand. Your very existence has chained your precious Sora to you and your run-down house for the rest of his natural life. He shares his life-force with you unknowingly, perhaps even unwillingly. So you are not so much unlike me after all. What was it that you said, ah yes, a parasite."

"Why?" Riku clenched his fists to his chair, his long bangs shading his expression. "Why would you tell me this? What would you expect me to do with this knowledge? Are you trying to convince me to die, to fade away in order to give Sora back his life? What do you want of me?"

"I want nothing except for you to know the truth. Though if you wished to save Sora from an eternity with you, you could always follow my example. After all, if you were to get your life-force energy from elsewhere, then Sora could live unaffected by your needs and the two of you could roam freely." Her eyes traveled back to the door they had come through.

Riku followed her gaze then shook his head with disbelief. "You would have me kill Roxas in order to detach myself from Sora? Are you insane? Sora would never forgive me."

"Very well, the choice is yours. Just know that when he dies, his soul and its energy will be mine."

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Riku stood up, grabbing the arm of the chair as the simple action nearly sent him reeling. "You promised you would leave him alone."

"And I will leave him alone, untouched from everything. And he will die, either from thirst or hunger, in the pitch black. A sorrowful fate, but it was as I promised."

Riku snarled then charged at her. He didn't have a plan, demand that she release Roxas, kill her, anything. But as he felt his fingertips graze her cloak she disappeared into herself, the staff's green glow filling the room before she had suddenly vanished with a laugh. Stumbling, Riku quickly changed course and ran at the door, trying the handle only to find it locked. Cursing, he rammed himself against the hard metal, trying to get out, trying to get to Roxas but his strength quickly failed him and he collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the door panting as his body shook with tremors.

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	12. Chapter 12: Lost in the Dark

Ahem Yes, well I guess I should apologize for the lengthy wait for this chapter after such a long one for the last one. I can tell school's starting from all sides though. My writing's coming slower, though I swear I'll still try to get a new chapter in every week, and the reviews are slowing down. Not that I'm complaining, the ones that I do get make my day! Pretty cool reviews, dudes! And I'm proud to say that I'm keeping up with responding to everyone personally, well, those who reviewed signed in anyway. So thanks to: BlueFox of the Moon, Poet Bucky, ramen-is-my-goddess, SarahXxUnlovedxX, Aindel S. Druida, Takara Zizumea, Tinker16, NightmareFairy, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, The Flurry of Destiny, XfallenXshadowX (Yami), Silver Butterfly07, Ivy J., yumie-darkness123, Yours For all Eternity, -IvyBlonde-, Lady Stars, Scootkadoot! Go, reviewers, go!

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Roxas leaned his head back against the metal bars, inhaling deeply as he closed his eyes. He knew that he told Riku he would be alright, but he hadn't realized how dark it would be. He couldn't see anything past the bars of the cage, even the edges of his cage were shrouded in shadow. He hadn't thought that it would bother him that much but it did, it really did. Everything was black outside his small space, anything could be going on.

And worst of all the shadows seemed to move. Roxas knew it was probably just his eyes playing tricks on him but he could swear that he saw things shooting by out of the corner of his eyes, twisting and slithering past. And then there were noises. The creaking of wood, a small scuffle every hour or so. They all sent chills down Roxas's spine. It was all he could do to pull his legs up to his chest.

He was also hungry. He hadn't eaten anything since dinner however many days ago, and at the time he had been too worried about Cloud and Leon to eat all that much. He was regretting that decision as his stomach gave another complaining rumble; it had basically been the only thing he had had to listen to for the past few hours. Well, besides the occasional terrifying sound from outside his cage. Of course, he knew he really shouldn't have been bothered by small creaks and other sounds, but the darkness had made him paranoid. The hunger and exhaustion also helped, as well as the pain in his chest and in the rest of his limbs from having to sit on a hard ground for so long.

Riku still hadn't come out of that room. Roxas wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, but he knew that it had been a while. The more cynical side of him told him that he had probably been momentarily forgotten, but that was mainly to cover up a deeper sense of dread. If something bad had happened to Riku, well then he would be on his own.

With a quiet groan, he reached up to rub his eyes. He really wanted to get out of this place. At this point he'd be happy with just about anyone coming to get him, as long as that person was normal. Screw it, he'd even be happy if some criminal broke in and rescued him at this point, or even a friendly ghost. He could deal with that.

He sighed, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "Damn it, Axel, where are you…?"

O

O

At the moment, Axel was standing outside the building he, Zexion, and Demyx had been investigating when Leon found them the last time they had been in Hallow Bastion. Leon had them circle around once, checking for any other exits other than the front door from which Maleficent could escape. He was also looking among the surrounding alleys to familiarize everyone with the setting, and in case Roxas or Riku had managed to get away and were somewhere nearby. However, with no trace of either of the boys, and no other exits out of the building, they made their way back to the front.

Axel had been silently seething during the time wasted to walk around the building, even if it was beneficial, and took great satisfaction in kicking the door open as hard as he could after Leon's signal. The rusted metal hinges shrieked as the wooden door splintered and it only took one more kick before it cracked open, the door splitting apart. Axel stepped past the wreckage, Demyx following closely behind him.

The blond's face was cautiously curious as he looked around the dark and dusty warehouse space, but his hand closed on Axel's shoulder tightly nonetheless as he saw that the red head was about to bolt. "We need to stay together." His voice was light but at the same time warned Axel not to argue. "Who knows what's in here, right? And we wouldn't want one of us to get hurt when we have Roxas and Riku to worry about."

Axel growled under his breath but waited beside Demyx, his foot tapping restlessly as the others filed in. Zexion was the last inside, his disgust for the place showing clear in his expression just before it disappeared behind a black sleeve as he lifted his jacket sleeve up to cover his nose and mouth.

Cloud's nose wrinkled as well. "Ugh, what's that smell?"

Leon sniffed once then snorted the scent back out as he recognized the stench. "Rats mostly. Hallow Bastion's full of them. You're probably getting some smell of trash and waste trapped in here from the outer alleys too."

"Let's just get this over with…" Zexion muttered, reaching in his side bag for his holy book. He flipped open the book then scowled when he realized that he couldn't read his text in the dark room. "Does anyone have a light?"

Both Leon and Namine turned on the flashlights they had brought, casting two roving spotlights about the walls. The warehouse was full of boxes of various sizes spread out in a seemingly random fashion, their painted-on labels having worn away from age. There weren't as many spider webs as to be expected, but everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Demyx grinned sheepishly at his sister as Leon and Axel moved forward, catching her attention as he motioned down to the flashlight. "Heh, I knew I was forgetting something!"

Namine shook her head but smiled sweetly anyway and handed him the light as she reached for her own shoulder bag. "Here, hold this for Zexion while I get the charms."

"Do you sense something already?" Demyx asked, his eyes flashing over to Leon and Axel worriedly, watching as they slowly picked their way forward. His fingers tightened around the flashlight and the beam of light wavered a little over Zexion's book but Namine shook her head.

"No, not yet, not directly anyway. There is something here though, but it's either very faint or else powerful enough to mask itself from my senses. I'm guessing that unfortunately it's the latter since I know who we're dealing with." Suddenly her hand froze halfway into the bag and her head snapped up, eyes darting to a corner of the room as a rustle echoed from the same direction.

Zexion's sharp gaze had also risen from his book. "A rat?" He asked, his fingers tightening on his pages. Obviously for him the idea of a rat was much more disturbing to him than a ghost.

Namine shook her head, her voice small. "No."

Cloud frowned, having listened in to the conversation and barked over to Leon. "Heads up, something's coming!"

Leon waved his hand to signal that he had heard, his hand slipping down to the gun on his belt. At the moment, he and Axel were virtually surrounded by rows of boxes, definitely a bad strategic location because, unfortunately, most of the wooden crates were chest-high; easy shields for anything that was crouching over. He turned to Axel, "You heard him, keep sharp."

"Oh believe me, I'm ready for them to come." Eyes narrowed, Axel pulled out a switch-blade, flipping it up in the air before catching it in a ready position.

Leon eyed the weapon briefly before turning back to the boxes ahead of them, his eyes and ears focused on the shadows just as much as the areas lit by his flashlight. "For some reason," he murmured, the pauses in his speech showing that he was paying more attention to the situation at hand than the conversation. "I expected you to have a different weapon than a knife. It doesn't really seem to connect to the supernatural all that well."

"First off, it is made of iron, which spirits can't stand. And secondly, it's not my weapon of choice, but those are back at my apartment in my room and are a little too big to carry out on the city streets. Perfectly legal though, I swear."

Leon merely grunted in response, both of them tensing at a clattering sound off to the side. Axel craned his head to look over Leon's shoulder just in time to see a flash of moving shadow shooting out toward them on the ridge of boxes, outside of Leon's peripheral vision. With a sharp yell, he pulled Leon over just as the thing leapt off of its high perch, the clattering sound of its fall masking Leon's curse of surprise.

Stumbling a few steps to catch himself from falling into Axel, Leon quickly whipped around with his flashlight, his and Axel's eyes widening as the light locked onto a small armored creature picking itself up off of the cement floor.

In the distance, Axel could hear the others' shouts as they ran toward them. One of his hands was still locked firmly on Leon's sleeve as the creature shook itself off, its armor rattling noisily. So this was one of Maleficent's minions? Axel's grip on his switch-blade tightened a little at the thought. Leon seemed to snap out of his shock at about the same time because in a heartbeat his gun was up in position. The creature, which looked almost like a bird of sorts, cocked his head to the side at the sight of the weapon then made both men jump as it put a hand up to its mouth and shouted in a too-human squawk. "They're armed! Sound the alarm!"

Axel's eyes widened. "Shit, shoot it!"

"What?"

"Shoot it!"

Leon growled but pulled the trigger. The armored bird disappeared in a puff of ash but it was too late, more clanking could be heard coming from all directions. Scowling, Leon grabbed Axel's arm, "Back to the group!"

Axel didn't argue, both of their weapons out and ready as he followed Leon back toward where the others were standing. Their pace quickened as the metallic running sounded louder in the echoing warehouse. Axel had to keep his eyes on the path ahead to make sure he didn't trip over anything that the flashlight hadn't picked up but out of the corner of his eyes he could see things climbing over boxes, coming closer toward them, their movement matched in time to the sound of the clanking. It wasn't much of a surprise then when, about five yards away from the other four, a shadow shot in front of them, cutting them off.

Both Leon and Demyx's lights came down on it simultaneously, showing a glint of metal just fast enough for Leon to dodge a heavy axe as it came swinging at his leg. As Leon jumped back out of range of the weapon, Axel struck forward and sliced through the creature's chest plate, the armor ripping open as if it was made of paper. The creature spun off to the side, letting out an animalistic squeal of pain as it scurried off in the direction it had come, too fast for Axel to give chase.

Axel apparently kept his eyes on the thing for too long though as beside him, Leon suddenly shouted, "Demyx, get down!"

Demyx immediately obeyed and Axel got a glimpse of another creature standing on a box right behind the four just as Leon fired his weapon. Once again, the creature disappeared into an ashy haze. Demyx stood up uneasily, though a smile flickered across his face as Leon and Axel finally made it to them. "Thanks, I didn't even see that there!"

"Me neither…" Cloud muttered, his own pocket knife in hand, "It didn't make a sound."

Axel smirked as Leon moved over to stand beside Cloud. "Well at least we know we're in the right place." His gaze moved over to Namine. "What the hell are those things anyway?"

Shaking her head, Namine reached into her bag, her hands trembling slightly. "Nothing I have ever seen personally. Their aura is strange though, did you sense it too Demyx?"

Demyx nodded. "Ya, it was like a natural aura, the kind from like and animal or something, but it was…ugly or something."

Hearing that her brother felt the same, Namine added. "Most likely these things were animals sacrificed for dark magic. A powerful spell could have turned them into these demon minions."

"Speaking of which," Axel cut in, "I haven't heard anything from our beastie friends in a while."

"If they can actually think, they might be hesitating since we can fight back." Leon suggested gruffly.

"No," shaking his head, Axel looked around them, "I don't think these things have the capacity to hesitate. They're probably just following that witch's orders; which means she's probably waiting for us to make the first move." He frowned, running a hair anxiously through his red spikes. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Keep searching." Zexion snapped his book shut as he continued. "If we keep together and they come at us one or two at a time, we will easily be able to hold them back. This room isn't that large and we know that Roxas and Riku have to be around here somewhere."

"If they're here, why haven't they given us any indication yet?" Namine asked quietly.

Frowning, Zexion tilted his head toward her before his eyes went back down to his book. "For all we know they could be gagged or even unconscious. There are plenty of more reasons why they wouldn't be able to respond to us. Do you have your charms out yet?"

Namine nodded as she pulled her sketch book out of her bag. When she opened the front cover, scraps of paper almost tumbled out. She caught them with a small gasp then brought them under the light to reveal that they had been marked up with different Wiccan symbols. Cloud's eyes narrowed curiously. "What do all of those do?"

Glancing up at him, Namine smiled almost shyly as the blond man inspected her work. "They're basically spells on paper. I have magic stored up on most of them so that Demyx and I don't have to exhaust ourselves using the energy we have right now. Most of them correspond to a certain element too, to make things simpler."

"Enough explanations, let's get moving." Axel said. Namine sighed lightly but besides that seemed to take no offense; she was apparently sympathetic to Axel's concern enough to let his words go without argument.

As they started to search, the most obvious change in the room was that it was now completely silent except for the sound of their own movement. It was like the creatures were just waiting, their presence thick in the air as they just watched the small group of humans explore the area. Everyone was tense and Axel could feel his hands starting to sweat a little as they continued on, every new row of boxes leading to greater disappointment when they found no trace of either one of the boys, no trace of the room being even touched by a human for years.

They reached the far end of the warehouse in ten minutes and Axel twisted around. "This can't be all there is here. This is the place where they're being held, it can't be empty."

Demyx bit his lip. "We might have gotten the wrong building, maybe they're next door?"

"Then why would those demons be wandering around here? Why did they attack us if we weren't getting to close?" Axel threw his hands up in the air, exasperated.

"I think the real question," Zexion, whose nose had practically been buried in his text the entire search, murmured, "Is why is the ceiling so low?"

Axel paused, his arms falling to his sides as he looked up. The ceiling was low. From the outside, it had looked like the building had been two stories tall or more. But this room was, at most, fifteen feet high. "There's a second floor." He glanced down at Zexion, "That's what you're getting at, right? The fact that there's a second floor?"

Zexion nodded absently. "From the outside, the building was notably one of the taller ones on the block. Furthermore, there were two stories of windows, even though all of them had been boarded up. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any staircases or even any hatches in the ceiling that could have been accessible by ladder, so the actual way up must be cloaked somehow."

Demyx turned to Namine. "Can you sense any spells?"

"Faintly, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't, they've been very well masked." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm getting an image of a group of crates, one tall one has metal rivets holding the sides together. A lamp is hanging above them but the image is focused on the floor." Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room. "I'm sorry I couldn't be anymore specific, but there is a spell around here somewhere."

Axel sighed, running a hand through his spikes again. The only problem with Namine's psychic outlet was that getting images wasn't always the easiest way to locate something. But as he scanned the room, following the searching beam of the flashlights, his eyes fell on a particular lamp hanging from the ceiling and a tall crate underneath it that had metal rivets. "Over there, that might be it!"

He led the group over to the spot, his eyes locked onto the ground as soon as they had made it under the lamp. It was Demyx though, who found something first. "I found the spell, but it looks really complicated."

They all crowded around him, Leon and Cloud keeping their attention outwards in case anything tried to jump them as Namine, Zexion, and Axel leaned over to look. It was a concentric circle carved into the ground, each level of the target-like shape gouged out by sharp-edged symbols. Axel frowned as Namine gingerly traced one of the small symbols with her finger. "What does it mean?"

"It's a high-level illusion spell. Truthfully, I've never seen anything like it before!" Swallowing, she pulled back from it a little. "I can't unlock this, Axel."

"What? Why not?"

"It's too…too big, too evil. Even with Demyx helping, we'd both probably faint before even undoing half of the spell from all the magic we'd have to use." She looked up at Axel with wide eyes, "It's one thing to cast a black magic spell, all you need is the right kind of sacrifice. But it's another thing altogether to try and undo it with white magic."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Axel hissed. He twitched as Demyx touched his arm lightly.

"Namine and I need to go back home. We need to meditate and fast for a few hours, and probably call Auron to help us out with this."

"Or we can just break down all the frickin' walls, the stairs are hiding behind one of them, right?"

"We couldn't do that. The illusion is so set that even if we did break down the right stairs, we would run right through the staircase itself and be out on the street. This spell is making it invisible to every one of our senses."

"Could we destroy the spell then?"

Zexion frowned. "The spell is carved into the concrete. It would take just as long to find the tools to break into it as it would take Namine and Demyx to ready themselves. Either way, we're can't save Riku or Roxas just yet."

Growling, Axel slammed his fist down on the symbol "Damn it!" His shoulders fell. "We're so damn close."

Suddenly a snarl drew all of their attentions away from the mark on the ground, their gazes flying up to the source of the noise. It was one of those creatures, perched on top of the crate with the rivets, its pig snout twitching as it bellowed out. "Attack the intruders, they've found the seal!"

And suddenly they were surrounded. Without a sound of approach there were not just by five or ten creatures but by dozens of them. Snarling, Leon raised his weapon as the apparent leader jumped, hitting it straight between the eyes before moving on to the next closest demon. "I've only got twenty-one more rounds!" He yelled over the sudden din of crashing metal, still firing despite his shortage as Cloud moved so that they were back-to-back.

The blond grimaced, slashing out at one as he kicked out at another that went for his leg. "Then you're going to have to use that thing as a blunt weapon!"

Not two feet away, Axel couldn't even hear what Leon and Cloud were saying as he sliced through another demon's thick layer of armor, his iron knife cutting through them easier than Cloud's but still not as fast as he needed. The things were piling on top of each other trying to get them and it was just a matter of time until-

"Demyx!"

Axel turned to see Demyx swaying on his feet, his left hand clenched around his right arm, Zexion holding him upright as Namine stepped in front with a charm that blasted his attacker back a yard or so with a burst of air. Even in the dim light Axel could see Demyx's sleeve darkening quickly as the Wiccan boy leaned against Zexion for support and gritted his teeth. Zexion's face was livid with anger and he began to mutter a prayer under his breath as he held onto his boyfriend. Axel imaged whatever demon was on the receiving end was going to disappear slowly and painfully.

Seeing his eyes on them though, Namine quickly passed Axel a scrap of paper. "Quickly, this is a fire element, use your lighter!"

Not needing to be told twice, Axel cut at one more demon with his knife as it charged him then fished into his pockets for his lighter. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Leon punch one of the creatures square in the jaw but before he could guess as to why the cop wasn't using his gun, his fingers closed around his lighter. With a flourish, he pulled it out and snapped it open, kicking back a spear before holding up the charm and lighting it up.

The charm remained stagnant for a moment, and for a brief second as he watched the creatures closing in, Axel thought that it might not do anything but burn. Then the writing on it suddenly glowed and Axel had to brace himself as a spiral of fire tore out of the charm, singeing every demon that it touched. "Now this is the firepower we need!" Axel said, grinning as he burned through the swarm shadowy creatures, leaving piles of ash in his wake. The fierce fire of the charm burned out quickly though and Axel had to drop it as it burned up, the heat soaking through his leather gloves at the last moment.

However the fire spell had definitely helped, and Axel threw himself back into the fight with renewed vigor, switch-blade in hand. Luckily, the demons were usually pretty thick, and moved slowly, their weapons the only thing that was really a threat. But still, more than once, Axel found himself thrown onto the ground. Dodging a blow from a particularly nasty looking sword, Axel again fell back, this time bumping into another warm body. Craning his neck back he saw that it was Zexion, who gave him an annoyed look, apparently having been interrupted mid-prayer by the way he continued. "-In nomine patrii, et filii, et spiritus sanctii. Amen."

The effect of the prayer was immediate and as soon as Zexion had said the last word an invisible force rippled out from Zexion and pushed the demons back, away from the four of them and virtually uncovering Leon and Cloud, who had been hidden by a wall of moving shadows. Leon's leg was bleeding as heavily as Demyx's arm but with Cloud's help he managed to limp over to them. Zexion's attention however, was fully on Demyx. "That prayer should give you about one minute." He pressed a vial into the other's hands and Demyx nodded.

"Alright. Nami, the charm." He looked up when he felt Axel's gaze. "You did such a good job with that fire charm, I figured if I could get a strong water one, we could beat these guys. But this one needs to be set on the ground, so Zexy gave me a little space! And provided the holy water, which should be extra helpful." He set the piece of paper onto the floor, kneeling down next to it. He appeared to be pointedly ignoring his wound at the moment as he uncorked the vial of water, his eyes closing as he sprinkled it onto the paper.

The symbol on the paper instantly glowed and Demyx's eyes flashed open as the first geyser of water sprung out of the solid concrete, washing away three of the demons at once. The first was quickly followed by more bursts of water and Axel watched as Namine put her hand on Demyx's shoulder, giving him more power. It was certainly a thing to see when they brought out the strong spells. The water was coming up almost rhythmically, each burst hitting multiple creatures.

When everything finally settled the room was wet, cold, but empty. Demyx was the first to move, laughing weakly as he peeled the sopping and now blank piece of paper off from. "Yay, it worked."

Cloud frowned then sat Leon down onto the floor, crouching down beside him. "Alright, the coast is clear. Now lift your leg and roll up your pants so I can see the damage."

"Cloud, this probably isn't the best time…"

"Squall, lift your damn leg." Leon scowled but did as he was told, resting his ankle on Cloud's leg as Cloud turned to Zexion. "I'll take a look at Demyx in a second. I'm pretty sure I have some bandages in the saddlebags of my bike so it would be good if you could just try to roll up his shirt past the wound. Be careful around the wound itself though."

Demyx looked over at Cloud curiously. "Why do you have bandages on your bike?"

"When you travel with our family, it becomes mandatory. I should have some antiseptic too ever since Roxas bloodied up his knee on that hiking trip." His voice trailed off as he rolled Leon's pant leg up far enough to inspect the wound and he looked at it carefully. "The good news is that it didn't seem to hit bone or any major arteries. It's deep but some how the worst of it seems to have cauterized already, meaning the blood right now is just from the skin level. I should be able to treat it without a trip to the hospital. Now hold tight while I check on Demyx."

After a moment, Cloud had decided that while both of the wounds looked bad, they weren't particularly fatal and that he would be able to treat and bandage them outside.

Although all of the demons seemed to have disappeared for good, it still felt a little like they were retreating from the building as they exited. But there wasn't anything they could do for the moment, the illusion spell cast on the upper level was too strong, and they would have to come back.

Knowing that there was nothing he could do did not improve Axel's mood any. He only looked back at the building once though, the frustration of being so close yet so far slowly eating away at him.

But they'd be back soon, they said it would take only a few hours to get ready, and Axel would make sure that they stuck to that schedule. Leaning against the side of his van, he watched as Cloud began to wrap Demyx's wound, Leon on his cell phone with Sora as Zexion and Namine talked quietly about how they could get themselves ready as best they could.

It was going to be a long day.

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Sora sat up straight as his cell phone rang in his pocket and fumbled to answer it as Kairi put the movie they were watching on pause. It had been the best thing she could think of that would keep his mind off things but it obviously hadn't worked as well as either of them would have liked. He had managed to snap out of his shock completely after his initial breakdown, but now all he could do was worry.

"Hello?"

_"Sora, its Leon."_

"Leon, what's going on? Are Riku and Roxas okay? Did they say what happened-?"

_"-Sora."_ The tone of his father's voice made Sora stop immediately. Leon sighed. _"We weren't able to get them out yet. There were complications and we can't get upstairs, which is where they're most likely being held. Cloud and I are going to go to Axel's apartment so call there if we don't pick up our cell phones for whatever reason. But I want you to stay at Kairi's, probably overnight if it's okay with her family."_

Sora frowned, sitting up a little straighter. "No. I don't want to stay here all night!" He looked sheepishly over at Kairi, "No offense, Kairi."

She rolled her eyes fondly as Leon sighed again on the other end of the phone, this time with more exasperation. _"Sora…"_

"No, Dad, I want to help. I can't just sit here while Roxas and Riku are in trouble, I need to do something. Axel's apartment isn't that far from here, you or Cloud can come pick me up on your way there."

_"Sora, we're not bringing you along. It's dangerous. There are things carrying real weaponry down here. Demyx has already been hurt. Not to mention the fact that the whole thing's in Hollow Bastion. If you stay at Kairi's Cloud and I won't have to worry about you."_

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore, I'm eighteen." Sora stood up. "I'm an adult and right now my little brother and my boyfriend are out there, maybe even dying, and I need to help find them. Because even if Roxas is fine, which he probably isn't, I know Riku is going to be in trouble. I'll walk to Hollow Bastion if I have to but I will get there."

"I can drive you." Kairi offered.

Sora grinned, putting his free hand on his hip. "There. Kairi just said she'll drive me. So either you pick me up or I'll meet you there, but one way or another, I'm going to be there."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Leon spoke up again. _"You're set on this, aren't you?"_

"Yep!"

_"Alright. I'll pick you up in my squad car in fifteen minutes."_

"Thanks, Leon. Love you, bye!"

Sora's grin melted away as he hung up and he sunk back down onto the couch beside Kairi. "That was scarier than I thought it would have been."

"What, talking to your dad?"

"No, disagreeing with him!" Sora smiled sheepishly as he straightened up, "I've never not done what he's said before." He blinked, "It was actually pretty easy. Weird."

"Well, you should have heard yourself talking to him. I don't think anyone could have said no to that." Kairi smiled sadly as Sora looked down at the cell phone still sitting loosely in his hand and reached over to pat his leg. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure Roxas and Riku are fine, or, they will be fine once you get there. You have to stay optimistic."

"I know. I'm trying."

Kairi wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I know you are. You just need to try a little longer."

Sora nodded. He would get Riku and Roxas back. And he was going to be there when they were rescued. He wasn't entirely sure he could really be of any help with fighting ghosts or casting spells, but no one else had known Roxas or Riku for as long as he had, and he would rather that they all face danger together than on their own.

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	13. Chapter 13: Salvation

Chapter 13

Alright reviewers! 21 reviews for the last chapter! Pretty good! I'm thinking this chapter might be a little more popular than that one though, so we'll have to see how many this one stirs up! ;) Oh, by the way, I've never mentioned this, but I love looking at the new "Reader Traffic" tab. Especially where it says which country my visitors come from! With all of us together, we could practically have our own Olympics! So ya, all you dudes are awesome, just in case you didn't know. The most awesome of awesome are of course my faithful reviewers: A-chan, Takara Zizumea, yumie-darkness123, Aindel S. Druida, Ivy J., xBlackxAngelsx, Tinker16, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, ramen-is-my-goddess, Yours For all Eternity, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, BlueFox of the Moon, chibi heishi, ooXloveXoo582, DemonicxTears, Poet Bucky, Scootkadoot, The Flurry of Destiny, Mare Dragon, Lady Stars, -IvyBlonde-!

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Axel drummed his fingers along his steering wheel before his eyebrows furrowed and he turned around in his seat to face the open back of the van. "What the hell is taking so long? It's not like we're moving across the country! Just throw the rest of the stuff on top and get in the car."

Letting out a small breath of exasperation, Zexion looked up at Axel. "We can afford a few more seconds to pack things well, some of this equipment costs more than what all of us earn in a month put together. Besides, Demyx and Auron are still up in the apartment." His eyes narrowed into a glare as he watched Axel's hand move back to the steering wheel. "Beep that horn one more time for them and you'll regret it."

Axel growled but let his hand fall limply onto his lap. It wasn't his fault if they hadn't responded to his previous four honks. To distract himself from pulling out yet another cigarette, he had already nearly decimated an entire pack today, Axel glanced down beside his seat, running a finger over a spike of one of the chakrams that leaned against his chair. He had been unprepared the first time, but this time he wasn't going to hold anything back. If they ever even got to Hollow Bastion, that is. Axel sighed then lolled his head to the other side, looking out his window. Leon, Cloud, and Sora were ready to go. Cloud even had his goggles on already and had pulled his bike up to Leon's window so that they could talk about something or other. Axel didn't really care about their conversation, it was irritating enough that they were able to hold a conversation in the time it took for everyone else to pull their things together. He was just about to kill the engine and go up to the apartment himself when Demyx and Auron slipped out the front door, Demyx taking a few seconds to make sure it was locked before they came down the stairs.

Axel still hadn't really gotten used to Auron's new scar, but the black-haired man seemed to have taken being blind in one eye in stride; he probably considered it a simple occupational hazard. Axel couldn't help but stare as Auron claimed the front passenger seat, snapping out of his morbid fascination when Auron turned to him. "Ready to go, Axel?"

"Hell yeah. I've been ready for ten minutes!" Axel just barely took the time to make sure everyone was in and all doors were closed before charging out of the parking lot. With any luck, this was going to be the third and last time they would be heading for that damned warehouse.

The trip there was silent, everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts or worries. Even though Axel was the one driving, the trip passed by in a blur for him, and before he knew it, Zexion was telling him to pull over and park. He did so mechanically, sliding out of the van, only just remembering to grab his chakrams as Leon and Cloud pulled their own vehicles into the mostly deserted parking lot. Sora was the first one out, his normally cheerful face set in a serious expression as he walked over to Axel and grabbed the sleeve of his trenchcoat. "Come on, which building are they in?"

Axel blinked down at the kid. Sora certainly was something else; there was no caution on his face, just a bold determination. Axel couldn't decide if it made Sora look brave or naïve. Maybe a little of both. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Axel shook Sora off gently before walking to the back of the van to help unload. Gabbing a duffel bag filled with equipment, he slung it over his shoulder then walked back to Sora then passed him by, absently twirling one of his chakrams with his fingers. "This way. Follow me."

In a sort of caravan effort, they managed to haul all of their gear to the warehouse in one trip. Demyx was the only one who had managed escaping something being pushed into his hands, and that was only because he was still nursing the wound on his arm.

Being first to the front door of the building, Axel set his load down on the front step then cautiously pushed open the broken door they had tried to put back into place when they had left, reaching into his jacket pocket for his flashlight. On a first sweep with the light, the place looked empty and void of scuttling creatures, so Axel stepped inside, weapon ready but unnecessary as he waved for the others to follow a moment later.

It didn't take too long to find the seal again after they were all inside, and Axel watched as Auron, Namine, and Zexion crowded around it. Demyx was standing next to him, arms wrapped around himself as his eyes kept darting to the shadows surrounding them. Frowning, Axel nudged his elbow. "I think we're alone this time."

"I know." Demyx smiled as best he could. "It's just a little creepy, you know? Just the thought that something could be out there's enough to get me on edge."

"And what, you're not needed down there?" Axel nodded down to the three supernatural experts crowded around the seal.

This time, Demyx really did smile, and waved his hand in a mock dismissal. "Nah. Everything I learned, Namine knows by heart, so I really wouldn't be any help down there. Plus that would mean having to suffer through one of Auron and Zexion's debates about the right way to be doing things."

Axel nodded, understanding. Though Auron and Zexion both had similar training, they definitely had different opinions on how to operate. But it only took a few minutes until Namine waved for Demyx to come down with them. Axel watched as they each put their hand onto the seal after a few words of instruction, the three younger ones glancing over to Auron for their cue.

Auron snorted at the sight then closed his eyes and nodded sharply. At the same time they all started murmuring a prayer under their breath. Each said a different spell or blessing, the combined effort causing the engraved mark in the cement to suddenly start to glow a violent red. Hearing Leon's noise of surprise, Axel turned around, his own eyes widening as one of the walls started to waver, almost as if they were seeing it from underwater. Then, it vanished, leaving in its place a dark set of stairs heading up.

After they had all ended their prayers, Auron was the first of the four to lift his head and when he saw that the wall had lost its illusion, he spoke up. "It seems to have worked. We should be safe to step away from the seal for a while before that witch realizes her spell's broken."

Understanding that as an okay to proceed, Axel headed for the stairs, an anxious Sora right on his heels. For his part, Axel was slightly concerned over the fact that they hadn't ran into any of Maleficent's minions yet. He didn't know if it meant that they had already killed all of her little armed animals or if she had pulled them back for a more opportune attack. Shining his flashlight up the flight of stairs, he checked for any signs of life. There was nothing, and the steps themselves were made of cracked concrete, which, despite its age, was likely to be safe enough to climb without worrying about it giving away under their feet. Axel frowned as he felt a light tug on the back of his coat, Sora's voice hitting his ears in the silence. "They're up there, right? Roxas and Riku?"

"They should be, or else I'm going to seriously hurt something. Kick out a window at least. But I digress." Axel's frown deepened with irritation and he directed his voice over his shoulder. "What's taking everyone else?"

His irritation was met with silence. Whipping around and ready to yell out rebukes, Axel was slightly stunned, his chakrams dropping noisily out of his hands when he saw nothing but a solid dark wall behind a clueless Sora. "Son of a-" Snarling, Axel ran past the younger man and banged on the wall with his fist.

Sora's blue eyes were wide. "When did that happen?!"

"Probably right after you went through it." Axel growled again, kicking at the wall and calling out even though he was fairly sure the others couldn't hear him. "Looks like you miscalculated, Auron! Way to frickin' go!" Snorting, he spun back around, glaring at nothing in particular as Sora shifted uneasily.

"Are we trapped in here?"

"Nah. They're probably running around like headless chickens trying to fix the problem as we speak. They'll have the wall back down in a few minutes." Axel glanced at the stairs then at the wall behind before he shrugged. Handing Sora the flashlight, he then bent over to grab up his chakrams. "While we're here we might as well take a quick peek at what we're up against."

He had made it up the first few steps when Sora spoke up. "Isn't that something we should wait for them for?"

"If it looks dangerous, we'll come back. Besides, if it's just those same creatures again then I'm more than ready." Spinning one of his spiked wheels up into the air, Axel winked down at Sora. "Don't worry, I can handle those punks."

Sora nodded, though still looked unsure as he followed Axel up the stairs. Axel kept spinning his chakrams every few seconds, the action second nature after years of practice. If the wall had gone back up, then that meant that Maleficent knew they had broken the seal. So she was ready for them. Oh well. Axel would avoid her as best he could. Besides, if she had wanted to attack him and Sora while they were separated from the group, she could have done so already. Moving forward was the only plan that made any sense in his mind.

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Cloud had been about to step after Sora when the illusion wall had given a small warning flicker of existence before suddenly swallowing the staircase back up, sealing in Sora and Axel at lightening speed. Cloud fell back with a surprised shout, knocking back into Leon as Auron cursed loudly.

"Damn. She must have known what we were doing all along." He sent a glare to Demyx, Zexion, and Namine, who were all looking shocked at the wall. "This one hell of an opponent you've thrown yourself against this time."

Zexion blinked then glared back before reaching down into his messenger bag. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the luxury of choosing to fight her. But we should get this wall down as soon as we can. We have no idea what's going on on the other side and my guess is that Axel won't wait for us before moving forward."

"That does sound like Axel." Auron muttered. He nodded when he saw Zexion pull out four bundles of sage, silently agreeing with the other's idea. "In order to force the seal open again, we're going to need to lower the dark magic potency in the entire building. Has that sage been blessed properly?" Zexion only sent him a look and Auron nodded again. "I had to ask. This is strong dark magic, we need some tough holy magic in order to cancel it out. Zexion, Leon, Cloud, and I will go outside to the four corners and find a place to bury the sage. Demyx, you and Namine stay in here and get ready to break the seal again as soon as you feel the dark-magic decrease." Seeing Leon and Cloud's slightly confused expressions, Auron shook his head and pushed a bundle of sage into each of their hands. "We're in a hurry, so the questions will have to wait for later. Here's the dumbed-down version. Take this sage, wedge it into the wall somewhere near the corner of the building, and we can get the wall back down."

Leon frowned but glanced back at the closed wall then headed for the door, Cloud close on his heels. As Zexion headed after them, Auron took one more minute with Demyx and Namine. "It will probably take all of us a few minutes to find places for the sage, so if I were you I'd use that time to ready yourselves. You'll be manually holding that seal open this time for as long as we need that wall down. After how fast it closed up the first time, we don't want to risk stepping back from it again."

Demyx nodded, kneeling down over the seal as Namine sat down across from him. "We won't move until everyone's back downstairs."

"Good."

As Auron swept out of the room, Demyx rubbed his hands together, his eyes locked on the closed wall. Namine caught his expression in the dim light of the one flashlight the others had left and reached out to touch his leg, her voice soft and comforting. "Demyx, it's going to be okay. We're working as fast as we can to get that wall back down."

Demyx shook his head. "I know, but I'm only hoping we'll be fast enough. Now that Axel can get upstairs, nothing's going to stop him from trying to rush in and save Roxas. I saw his face when we got in here, he was desperate to get moving. I just hope they don't run into her on their own. Even if we got the sage in place in time to lower the negative energy, she'll still have enough power stored up in her staff to really hurt them!" He gave a shuddering chuckle. "Axel will probably just run into it too, and drag Sora with him!"

"I'm sure Axel will be as careful as he can."

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The stairs were surprisingly long, and even wrapped around a landing before the two of them found themselves in front of a tall metal door. Axel immediately reached forward and pushed the industrial handle down, forcing the door open as it released a rusty shriek of protest.

"How did you know it was unlocked?" Sora asked.

"The way I figured it," Axel murmured, stepping through the door cautiously. "Was why would anyone bother locking a door when they have it magically hidden? No need, right?"

"I guess…" Sora's whispered voice trailed off into silence as they observed the second story from the doorway. It was nothing if not darker than the lower level, nearly pitch black. But the flashlight cut through the darkness like a knife, revealing a room that looked surprisingly like the ground floor. Boxes stacked hap-hazardly everywhere, even up to the ceiling at some points, a concrete floor mimicking the one on the room below.

Suddenly Axel held up his hand, reaching down with his other hand to click off Sora's flashlight as a quiet rattle echoed through the room. The sound had been similar to the metal clanking of Maleficent's creatures, and Axel didn't want to give them a perfect target by keeping their light on. But looking into the dark room, Axel wasn't so sure he wanted to be stumbling around blindly either. He waited for a moment, to see if they were going to be attacked, but when he heard nothing else, he reached back down to turn the flashlight back on. It wasn't ideal, but they needed to see. It would be hard enough even with the flashlight; everything else would just be a dark tunnel of nothingness.

Leading the way, Axel carefully picked his way through the boxes, heading toward the point where he had thought the rattling had come from. If one of those creatures were waiting for them, he wasn't going to let them land a surprise attack. He was surprised though, when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the flashlight pick out the glint of metal, because it hadn't looked like armor. Sora seemed to have seen it too, because he directed the flashlight beam back onto it again. It was a cage. Axel's eyes widened and he moved forward, their footsteps speeding up as they hurried over to it.

When they reached it, Axel felt his heart drop when he saw that it was empty, the door hanging open. He had been so sure that Roxas would have been sitting in it, but no, there was still no sign of the blond boy. Closing his eyes tight, Axel tensed then growled and slammed a chakram down onto the cage, not caring if the sound reverberated through the entire room as the cage split open. "…Damn it."

His heart nearly stopped though when he head a sudden noise behind them, almost a sharp gasp, though it had been nearly silent. Whipping around at the same time as Sora, he nearly choked with relief when he saw Roxas in another cage; the blond looking disheveled but alive, wide blue eyes wincing as pain as the flashlight fell on him.

"Roxas!" Sora fell down to his knees, reaching out for his brother's hand as Roxas threw himself against the bars to reach his brother, tears already beginning slide down his cheeks as he was drawn into a hug. "Roxas, you're okay!"

Roxas swallowed, his fingers trembling as he clung onto Sora, trying to find the voice he hadn't used for days. "R-Riku might not be. There's a door, over there." He pointed weakly in the direction he had last seen light before Sora and Axel had come for him. "She, she took him there, a long time ago."

Axel frowned when he saw Sora's face pale. "You can go look for him. Here." Putting a chakram down, he reached up under his coat and pulled something off of his neck with a small snap. When he pressed it into Sora's hand, the younger man could see that it was a charm of some sort hanging off a now-broken leather cord. "That's a protection charm courtesy of Demyx. It should keep you safe until we can catch up to you." Sora nodded, pressing his hand against his chest and looking at Roxas almost apologetically. Axel saw this and smiled dryly. "I can take care of this. Go find Riku, Roxas is alright now." Sora nodded then stood up after squeezing Roxas's hand once more before running off in the direction Roxas had indicated.

After Sora had disappeared from his now-limited sight seeing as how the younger had taken the flashlight with him, Axel turned back to Roxas, crouching down and taking his hand. "Hey, you're going to be okay. I'm here for you." Roxas nodded, biting his lip hard as new tears threatened to fall down his cheeks. Axel chuckled weakly, relief clear in his sharp green eyes as he pulled back just a little, though not enough to release his hold on Roxas's hand. "Now let's figure out how to get you out of here."

"There's no latch." Roxas whispered, his voice hoarse and defeated. "I checked. She opened it with magic."

"Well that won't be much of a problem for me, now will it?" Axel pulled away completely as he picked up both chakrams again, his heart breaking at the sound of Roxas's small whimper from the loss of contact, his voice coming out gentler than before. "Scoot to the side, Roxas, I don't want you getting hurt." Roxas obeyed and Axel frowned with concentration. He was definitely not going to be the one to hurt Roxas due to poor accuracy. With careful aim, he swung a chakram down into the top of the cage, the weapon coming down through the side as he pulled his swing all the way through. Panting a little from the combined effort of a heavy swing with such tight boundaries, Axel's eyebrows furrowed as he set his chakrams down then grabbed the break in the cage, the warped metal groaning as he pried it apart. Luckily he was wearing his leather gloves; otherwise his hands would have definitely been torn from the sharp breaks of the crisscrossing metal bars.

When he thought the hole was big enough, he leaned down inside and stretched his arms out. "Come on, Roxas, I've got you. It's okay."

Roxas's eyes widened then he suddenly sprung into Axel's arms. Axel grunted at the added weight but heaved them both out before dropping onto the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around his blond. Axel's eyes closed as he let out a small chuckle, resting his chin on the top of Roxas's head. Roxas was safe. He was trembling in his arms, but he was safe. "It's okay, I've got you." He murmured again, pressing his lips against Roxas's messy hair. "You're going to be alright now, Roxas."

Roxas didn't want to let go of Axel, ever. When he had first heard someone walking around, he had almost convinced himself that he was just hallucinating again, that he was simply imagining that someone had finally come for him. Even the light, he had though that it could have been all in his head, or worse, it could have been one of Maleficent's tricks. His paranoia and silence had left him though, when he had heard Axel's voice coming from one of the two dark figures. Axel had finally come for him. And Sora, his brother was here too. He had known that everything would be okay as soon as he realized that Axel and Sora were there for him.

Burying his face deeper into Axel's jacket, Roxas greedily breathed in the residual smell of cigarettes in the leather coat. It usually disgusted him but now it smelled wonderful because it solidified the fact that yes, he was out of the cage and Axel was now here to make sure he wouldn't have to deal with anything alone again.

Roxas let out a shuddering breath, still shaking as he pulled away a bit. He almost choked on his emotions before raising his fist and smacking Axel's shoulder. "Axel, you idiot, what took you so long?"

"Hey…" Axel brushed his fist away then reached up to wipe away Roxas's tears with a leather-clad thumb. Tilting Roxas's chin up so that their eyes were level, Axel smiled lightly. "I'm always going to be here for you, okay?" Roxas nodded, his eyes closing briefly as he leaned into Axel's touch. Smirking softly, Axel opened his mouth then closed it again, stopping himself from saying something he might regret later. He swallowed then stood up, helping Roxas to his feet before pressing a light kiss to the boy's forehead. He could tell Roxas had blushed even though he couldn't quite see it in the darkness and reached out to steady the blond as he wavered a little on his feet. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Just…hungry, and thirsty, and tired, and cold…" Roxas laughed hollowly. "Pretty much everything but bleeding!"

Axel frowned as his eyes traveled down to Roxas's clothes; he was still dressed in his pajamas from when he had been taken from the house. When he felt Roxas shiver, his frown deepened. "You must be freezing." Unzipping his black trenchcoat, he quickly wrapped it around Roxas's shoulders. "There. A little long maybe, but it should warm you back up. You actually look pretty sharp in it, Roxy."

Roxas sent him a half-hearted glare but wrapped the coat around himself tighter and grabbed Axel's hand in his own. They managed to walk a few steps before Axel felt Roxas totter against him, turning just in time to catch Roxas as the other's legs gave out from under him. "Whoa, easy there, Roxas."

Roxas's eyes were closed tightly, one hand clutching one his chest as the other grabbed onto Axel as he ground out. "S-shut up."

Axel was about to retort when they were both suddenly blinded by the flashlight beam, Axel putting his hand up to block the glare as Sora jogged over to them, his face pale with a concern that only seemed to deepen when he caught sight of Roxas. "What's the matter with Roxas?"

Roxas opened one eye, taking a deep breath before replying. "That witch…ripped Rose away. I thought the pain had mostly disappeared but it suddenly came back."

Axel's expression darkened. "That's probably because you started walking. When all the blood got flowing again, any injury would get a fresh wave of pain. Which is why I asked if you had been hurt in the first place."

"I didn't think it mattered anymore!" Roxas snapped, his anger morphing into shock as Axel leaned down to pick him up. "W-What are you doing?"

"I shouldn't have been letting you walk anyway. You've been without food and water for nearly three days now, walking those few steps probably just about exhausted you. And now that I know that you are actually hurt, there's no way I'm letting you walk around. So sit still and enjoy the free ride." Adjusting Roxas into a better position in his arms, Axel turned to Sora. "Where's Riku?"

"That's what I came back to tell you. I found the door, but I can't get it open! And if Riku is in there, he's didn't respond when I banged on the door!"

"Alright, let's go take a look."

Since he had already found his way to the door once and back, Sora was able to lead them there in relatively little time. He shone the light on the large metal door, a worried frown on his lips. "I think it's stuck. I managed to open it a little, but not enough even to see into the room."

Frowning, Axel set Roxas down against the wall, ruffling his hair before motioning for Sora to join his brother out of the way. Sora quickly obeyed, using the time to check Roxas over himself to make sure that his brother wasn't injured somewhere and just not telling them. That sort of stubbornness seemed to run in the family sometimes. Well, with Cloud, Leon, and Roxas anyway. Roxas shook him off but didn't resist as Sora then wrapped his arm around his shoulders, appreciative of his brother's warmth and presence. His brother's warmth was different then Axel's, softer, pure light to Axel's fire; but Roxas welcomed it just as much after having been in the dark for too long.

When he made sure that both Strife boys were well out of range, Axel readied himself then slammed his shoulder into the door, sucking in a curse as it stung his shoulder while not even leaving a scratch on the door. Shaking his arm out, he glanced back at Sora and Roxas, sending them a reassuring smirk as before turning away to hide a wince. Damn, that had probably not been the smartest idea. It was obviously time for the heavy artillery. Taking up his chakrams from where he had propped them up against the wall, Axel spun them around for a test spin before backing up. "Roxas, Sora!" He called out, "Cover your faces and watch out for shrapnel!"

Sora's eyes widened and he pulled Roxas's face to his chest as Axel ran at the door. Sparks flew and Axel wished he had a free hand to cover his ears as the room echoed with the grinding shriek as the metal gave way underneath the spikes of his chakrams. He was definitely going to have to sharpen them again after this whole thing; they were not designed to cut through metal.

But they seemed to do the job well enough. When Axel pulled away, there were two gashes cutting down the entire length of the door, next to the hinges, essentially severing the door from them. Light was shining through, showing that there was some sort of lighting inside the other room which was good because Axel was tired of using that stupid flashlight. Smirking at a job well done as he examined the gashes, Axel stepped to the side then gave a sharp tug on the handle. With nothing holding it up, the door toppled over and Axel watched with some satisfaction as it fell over onto the spot he had just been standing.

As soon as the door had fallen, Sora was up on his feet and running through the door. Axel was bending over to pick Roxas back up when a sharp cry caused them both to start to attention. Eyes flashing, Axel squeezed Roxas's arm then turned for his chakrams, ready to attack an unknown enemy as he ran into the other room. What he saw though made him stop in his tracks.

Sora was kneeling over Riku, clutching the silver-haired man's limp hand tightly as Riku lay motionless on the ground.

Sora's breath hitched as he stared down at his boyfriend. Riku's skin was white, his lips a dead blue gray color. Lying on the ground he looked like he was made of marble, his body was as cold as the stone anyway. "Riku…Riku wake up." When Riku didn't respond, Sora felt his whole body shudder, nausea welling up as he felt tears sliding freely down his cheeks. He was only barely aware of Roxas's hand on his shoulder as he leaned down, pushing Riku's bangs out of his face. "Riku, come on, you've got to wake up! You can't be d-" he cut himself off, the possible reality of loosing his silver-haired ghost too much to handle. "Please, open your eyes…"

He pressed his lips against Riku's desperately, his breath ghosting over Riku's cheek as he pulled away only for a second, looking for any signs of life.

"Sora…" Axel's voice was gruff but Sora lifted his head at the sound, his breath seizing in his throat when he saw the other's grieving expression. For the first time, he felt Roxas's arms wrapped around his chest, his younger brother's face pressed against his back. Shaking his head with disbelief, Sora rocked forward, breaking out of Roxas's comforting hold as he leaned down again and kissed Riku again.

This time, as their lips touched, Sora felt an icy wave roll through his body. It felt as if everything in him was being pulled downward, down into Riku's body. Shuddering, Sora only pressed harder, willing whatever it was to continue. He didn't care what happened if Riku wasn't going to come back to him.

Sora let out a gasp as Riku's lips suddenly moved against his, breaking contact as he pulled his head up. He was panting, and it felt as if he had just run a twenty-mile race but none of that mattered because Riku's eyes were fluttering open. A happy sob broke past his lips as their eyes made contact and Sora threw himself against Riku.

Riku blinked weakly, his arms slowly moving up to wrap around Sora's trembling form, every movement obviously forced through will alone as he clutched Sora close to his body. Still crying but not caring, Sora nuzzled his face against Riku's shoulder. "Riku! I thought you had died!

"I think I almost did…." Riku rasped out, his eyes closing as Sora clung harder to him, a sad and defeated smile on his face as he could feel his body leeching Sora's energy out, knowing there was no way he would be able to shake Sora off. Guilt rang through him too, as he realized that he didn't even try, that he was enjoying having Sora in his arms too much to stop himself. "Sora…"

"I thought I wouldn't be able to talk to you again," Sora murmured, his lips moving faintly across Riku's neck. "I, I really thought that I wouldn't be able to tell you how, how much I love you."

"Sora." Riku chuckled weakly. "I will be alright. And I think, I will always have a good sense of how much you care for me, if my own feelings for you could be of any comparison."

Letting out a breath of relief as he watched Sora help Riku up into a sitting position, Axel ran his hands through his red spiked hair, feeling exhausted after the emotional roller coaster they had all been through. He looked across to Roxas, smiling reassuringly as Roxas leaned back against the nearest wall for support, speaking up when the blond closed his eyes to rest. "I guess we'll have to stay here until someone comes to find us. I'm fairly sure I won't be able to carry both Riku and Roxas back down on my own, despite how awesome I am."

Roxas chuckled, turning his head to respond as his eyes opened again. His expression suddenly went from relieved to horrified in a second though and Axel had only to a second to whip around to see a black raven flying toward at them from the broken door. Snarling, he threw his chakram up, hurling it at the oncoming bird. "No, you don't!"

The raven crowed angrily, just managing to dodge the flying weapon. A few of its tail feathers lost their tips before the chakram hit the wall though, its spikes burying into the hard concrete and sticking as the bird glided over their heads. Twisting around to follow the bird's path, his second chakram ready to throw, Axel's eyes widened when he saw what it was heading toward. A woman was standing against the far wall; she must have appeared the instant the bird had their attention. Axel swallowed, stepping forward to block the other three from her direct path as he instantly knew that this was Maleficent.

Maleficent pet her raven's head as it landed on her shoulder, fixing Axel with a cold stare. "You have quite the aim. And quite the luck. Indeed, if you had hit Diablo then you would not be around to be looking so brave."

Axel growled. "I wouldn't be talking so tough if I were you, we completely destroyed all of your minions yesterday without even breaking a sweat."

Maleficent blinked then laughed, the sound sending a shudder down Axel's spine. "You imbecile! Do you really believe that I relied on them at all? No, they are simple to make, they don't even require any energy really." Suddenly she stiffened then her eyes narrowed and she glared down at the four. "Your group certainly is meddlesome though. Evidently, you don't know when to give up. As for you Riku, do you see? It's just as I told you." Sora looked down questioningly at Riku but his boyfriend avoided his gaze and glared at the ground. "But if you would excuse me, I must be off."

Scowling as he watched her turn and walk out toward the door, Axel swung up his other chakram. "Hold on, I'm not done talking here!"

Maleficent turned, not even bothering to speak as she swung her staff out, the crystal glowing sharply. Axel shouted as he suddenly felt himself thrown back, wincing as his back slammed against the far wall, his breath knocked out of him.

"Axel!" Roxas was about to rise to his feet when he heard shouts coming from over Maleficent's shoulder, signaling that the others had made it onto the second floor. His eyes snapped over to the witch but she seemed unconcerned about being trapped between their small group and the others. She only called her raven to her before raising her arms and, Roxas's eyes widened, vanishing in a green fire that suddenly rose up and seemed to consume her whole.

The fire had just disappeared when Auron appeared at the open doorway, his face grim as he accessed the situation. Grimacing as he pulled himself up onto his feet, Axel shook his head. "She's gone."

"But you're safe." Turning to face the larger room, Auron barked out, "Zexion, Strifes! They're over here!" Facing Axel again, Auron glared rebukingly. "What you did was stupid and possibly lethal. I hope you know that."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't need to rub it in." Walking over to Roxas, he leaned over and picked him up as the others rushed into the room. Roxas raised a questioning eyebrow as his face colored with embarrassment and Axel grinned. "What, you think I'm going to give you up just because your dads glare at me? I was the one to rescue you after all, this can be my reward."

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	14. Chapter 14: The Eye of the Storm

Chapter 14

27 reviews! Bwahahaha! A record since Chapter 6! My reviewers are awesome!…Not that I keep track or anything…anyway…Anyway, thanks to all those people reviewed! What with school and a few new jobs (just two little ones, but still, they're a bit of work!) I'm just learning how to balance out my new schedule! Don't worry though, once everything's settled, I'll still be on track with my updates! So thanks to: Poet Bucky, A-chan, SarahXxUnlovedxX, ramen-is-my-goddess, BlueFox of the Moon, The Flurry of Destiny, Dust to Dusk, Aindel S. Druida, Ivy J., ooXloveXoo582, Tinker16, XfallenXshadowX, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, DemonicxTears, -x-Leon-Ada-x-, Cassie-san, Takara Zizumea, Yours For all Eternity, BokuraNoLoveStyle, -IvyBlonde-, Scootkadoot, Clouded Mirror, NightmareFairy, Mare Dragon, Duskri, PirataNoctis, TheLadyGrey, Polish! You dudes rock my world! ;)

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After Axel had dropped Demyx, Zexion, and Namine off at their apartment, he quickly backtracked to the Strife residence. Luckily Auron had driven his own car into Hollow Bastion so he didn't need a ride back to his home. Axel knew that Roxas and Riku were probably fine. They had Leon, Cloud, and Sora to take care of them. But still. He needed to see for himself that Roxas was alright, safe in his own home.

Once he reached the Strife house at the end of the court, Axel knocked lightly on the front door. He smirked when Sora opened the door not a second later almost as if he had been waiting in the entrance hall, the brown-haired boy perking up when he saw who it was outside. "Axel! Come in. Roxas is taking a shower, so no going upstairs!"

Axel's smirk widened and he cast a longing look at the stairs just to make Sora flustered. Chuckling at Sora's expression, Axel ruffled his hair. "I'm kidding. I'll be good."

"You'd better!" Sora gave him a warning glare, which was about as scary as a nipping puppy, then scampered into the parlor. Curious as to what he was up to, Axel followed him in, his eyes narrowing with sympathetic understanding when he saw Riku lying out on the couch. The younger man's eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed with an apparent migraine. Cloud was crouched down next to him, the doctor's fingers wrapped around Riku's wrist, his own eyes closed as he counted the other's pulse in his head.

After a moment, Cloud's eyes opened again and he smiled slightly. "The good news is that your blood pressure is normalizing again. I suggest you rest up, eat whatever it is Leon is cooking, and stay away from any intense physical activity."

Riku nodded, rubbing his forehead as Cloud stood up. The blond man stopped as if noticing Axel for the first time then blinked once before frowning lightly. "Axel, walk with me."

Axel tilted his head to the side at the man's tone; he couldn't tell if Cloud was angry with him or trying to express some other emotion but he followed after him into the hall. He hadn't had chance to change yet so the black combat boots he had worn to the warehouse clunked noisily over the wooden floor as he walked behind Cloud. Cloud led him into the kitchen where Leon was busy stirring something on the stovetop, the man turning and giving only a grunt of acknowledgement before going back to his cooking.

Cloud rolled his eyes fondly then turned to Axel, regarding the taller man critically for a moment before speaking up. "Axel, we wanted to thank you. It was stupid to rush ahead like you did but…you were able to get to Roxas and Riku before we were, and thought quickly enough to make sure they were safe." Cloud paused, glancing back at Leon. The other man had stopped stirring by now but was still facing the stove, part of the conversation despite the fact that he wasn't saying anything. Sighing, Cloud glanced back at Axel. "Two years ago, Roxas was disappointed when you didn't call after everything settled out, more than he even wanted to admit to himself, I think. It was depressing having to watch him try to get over you."

Leon growled then turned around. "What he's trying to say is that if we don't see you around this house often enough, we're going to drag you here from your apartment. There's no reason to watch Roxas mope around when we know where you live."

Axel looked at the both of them then grinned. That had been the most threatening acceptance he had ever received, but he wasn't going to complain. Axel slung an arm over Cloud's shoulders. "You don't have to worry about Roxas. I'm not going anywhere so he won't have the chance to get any more emo than he already is."

"You'd better not be talking about me."

"Roxy!" Axel turned around and quickly swooped down to scoop Roxas up in his arms, nuzzling into his wet hair before he hoisted him up. Roxas cried out indignantly as he was lifted up, his arms wildly wrapping around Axel's neck to keep himself from falling over. "How was your shower?"

Roxas flushed, glancing at Cloud and Leon before punching Axel hard on the shoulder. "Pervert." Seeing that Axel wasn't going to let him down even under the threat of being hit again, Roxas sighed. "If you have to know though, it was nice, but now I'm really hungry."

His stomach grumbled against Axel's chest and he blushed a little more as Leon shook his head. Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, Leon doled out a helping of soup, walking over and handing it over to Roxas. "Here, it'll be easy on your stomach."

"That and if you haven't eaten anything for the last few days, we need to start you off slowly," Cloud murmured. "Axel, why don't you take him into the dining room? And while you're at it, call Sora out of the parlor. We can have him grab something for Riku too, whether or not Riku has an appetite."

Axel nodded, smirking as he carried Roxas out of the room. He was beginning to like having him in his arms actually; Roxas was just small enough so that it wasn't all that much of an effort for short distances. Axel grinned at the thought.

"Whatever you're thinking, cut it out."

"Aw, Roxy, how did you know I was thinking about you?"

Roxas glowered, his cheeks nearly a bright red. "You had that pedophile grin on your face again."

Snorting, Axel set Roxas down near the dining room table, careful so that none of the soup sloshed out of the bowl as Roxas found his own footing. "You mean my sexy grin." Without even taking another breath, he directed his head down the hall toward the parlor. "Yo, Sora, come get some dinner for you and Riku!"

Roxas rolled his eyes as he sat down at the table, his posture somewhat limp as he was undoubtedly still exhausted from his whole ordeal. "Subtle. You know, if Cloud wanted to scream at them, he could have done it himself from the kitchen."

"Come on, Roxy," Axel grabbed the chair next to Roxas's and spun it around so that he could sit in it backwards. "You weren't actually expecting me to go all the way over and talk nicely to them, did you?"

"You're right, that would be expecting too much of you…" Roxas's voice trailed off as he looked cautiously at Axel who was staring at him with an odd expression on his face. "…What?"

"Nothing, just watching."

"Watch all you want, see if I care," Roxas grumbled, digging into his soup. He was hungry, damn it, and he was going to eat his medically-rationed portion of soup with or without Axel staring at him. He had only gotten a few spoonfuls into his mouth though when Axel spoke up again, apparently not content with the silence that had fallen between them. "Hey, Roxy, let's play a game." Roxas shot him an odd look but Axel ignored it and continued. "You can ask me a question, about anything. I'll answer and then I get to ask one of my own. It'll help break the ice, because really, let's face it, we don't actually know many useful facts about each other."

Roxas rested his spoon down in his bowl, glancing up searchingly into Axel's sharp green eyes. Axel did have a point. He really didn't know any of the basic facts about Axel. But what would he ask? Biting his lip, he frowned thoughtfully for a minute before looking up. "Alright. You're in college, right? What's your major?"

Axel laughed. "Starting with the stereotypical college questions? Fine, fine. I'm a Chemistry major, with a minor in Fire Science. And yeah, it's an actual minor."

"I'm just surprised you're smart enough to be into Chemistry. Even Riku said those classes were hard."

Axel put a hand to his chest as if offended. "You hurt me Roxas, you really do. I can be smart when I want, I've even been known for having flashes of genius from time to time. But now it's my turn for a question." He tapped his chin, making a show of thinking hard before smirking down at Roxas. "What's your favorite food?"

Roxas frowned. "And you thought my question was stupid? I don't know, I'm not picky." Suddenly his eyes brightened, "Wait, sea-salt ice cream! Sora hates the stuff but I think it's great!" He thought hard as Axel chuckled at his response, the sixteen-year-old's mind working fast. "Were you born in Radiant Garden, or are you just coming here for college?"

"Just for college. I come from the delightful Twilight Town." Roxas had to laugh. Twilight Town was known to be a picturesque little village perfect for postcards, where everyone knew each other's names and where people went to raise a happy, perfect family. Basically, he had no idea how it could have produced someone like Axel. "Laugh all you want, but it was a decent place to grow up, if not incredibly boring some times. Reno and I got into some deep shit when we were kids and you don't even want to know what happened when Demyx and Namine moved in from Halloween Town; it was hell on earth for the good people of Twilight Town." Roxas laughed again and Axel smirked. "What about you, did Leon and Cloud move you here or are you from some backwater town too?"

"Nah, Sora and I've lived in Radiant Gardens for as long as I can remember. We lived in an apartment at first after Leon and Cloud adopted us and then moved here, so this is basically the farthest we've ever lived outside the city as far as I know." Roxas paused, wondering what kind of life Axel had lived as a kid. He wanted to know, especially one question in particular. But he wasn't quite sure how to ask it. Finally he looked up at Axel again, meeting his gaze almost shyly. "How many people have you dated?"

Axel blinked then smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. "A few. six or so, depending on your definition of 'dating', but things always ended within the first few months, mutually or otherwise. Do you like horror or comedy movies more?"

Roxas was lucky to have caught the question at all, his mind still trying to wrap around the idea that Axel had dated so many people. He himself had never dated anyone, at all. Ever. Suddenly feeling a lot more intimidated and inexperienced, Roxas tried to mimic Axel's nonchalant shrug. "Um, horror I guess. Comedies can be way too stupid sometimes." Stirring his soup absently, Roxas wondered just what kind of people Axel had dated before. If he ever possibly was going to think about dating the red-head, though he was still denying that he liked Axel at all even though he knew differently, would he would be tossed away in only a few months as well? He wasn't anything special, so someone like Axel probably would get bored with him quickly.

A hand suddenly waved in front of his face and threw Roxas out of his thoughts to find Axel looking down at him with a hint of concern. "You okay? You kind of spaced out on me for a second there."

"I'm fine." Roxas said quickly, his gaze falling to his bowl. "Just thinking." Hearing a shuffling to his side, Roxas looked over to see Sora coming out of the kitchen with a tray of food balanced precariously in his hands. Distracted by the sight, instincts from his part-time job as a waiter crying at him to help carry the food before it spilled, Roxas spoke up. "Hey, Sora. Do you need help?"

"Nope! I'm fine." Sora shook his head as Roxas opened his mouth to object, a smile on his face. "Really, I've got it! Well, I've got it good enough to make it to the parlor anyway." He didn't want to offer Roxas an escape from talking to Axel either. As much as he wanted to keep his little brother from awkward situations, Roxas needed to come to terms with his attraction to Axel one way or another. Besides, he wanted to help Riku himself. His boyfriend had been acting distant ever since they had found him in the warehouse. Sora understood that it might just be from the exhaustion, but there was something in Riku's gaze telling Sora that something else was wrong.

Managing to carry the tray all the way into the parlor without spilling anything or dropping and breaking any dishes, Sora placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch Riku was lying across then sat down on the ground between the table and couch. Having sensed him approach, Riku had opened one eye but at the sight of the food quickly closed it again with a grimace. "Sora, thank you, but food truly does not sound appetizing at all right now."

Sora frowned, reaching up to comb out Riku's silky hair with his fingers. "You have to eat something, Riku, you haven't eaten in days. Besides, Leon made this light on purpose so you'd be able to keep it down."

"Sora…"

"Just try a little. If you can't handle any more, I'll stop bugging you, promise." Sora looked up as Cloud rapped his knuckles on the parlor doorway to catch their attention, Leon standing behind the blond with his arms crossed.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know that Leon and I are going upstairs to rest. He needs to get off of his injured leg and I doubt he'll actually do that unless I'm watching his every step." Leon rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, unable to actually dispute the accusation as Cloud continued. "Sora, you and Axel are in charge. And Riku," he sent a warning look in said young man's direction. "You'd better do what Sora says and eat or else I'm going to have to stick an IV in you within the next few hours. I don't know about you, but personally, I'd rather be fed through my mouth." He smirked at Sora's disgruntled expression. "Just remember to relax and Sora, if anything happens, don't hesitate to come up to our bedroom."

Sora nodded, waiting until Cloud and Leon had left the doorway before turning back to Riku, his eyes wide as he pulled the tray closer to Riku. "You'd better eat, because I don't think he was lying about the IV…"

Riku let out a long sigh but slowly slid up into a sitting position. His face was still paler than it should have been, but it had gotten much better since they had got home, and his hand shook only a little from exhaustion as he reached out for his bowl of soup. Once he had it in his lap, he glanced over at Sora from behind the silvery veil of his bangs, giving a weak chuckle before patting the spot beside him. "Sit up here with me. I know you have a question to ask."

Sora smiled a little then moved up to the couch, sitting beside Riku for a moment before wrapping his arms around Riku's torso and burying his face into Riku's sleeve. He frowned though as he felt Riku tense slightly, and withdrew his head only enough to look up at Riku's face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You're part of the problem but it has nothing to do with what you personally did."

Sora pouted, "You're trying to talk me in circles again. Just tell me what's wrong, Riku. If it has something to do with me, then maybe I can help."

Riku sighed again but reached up with one hand to tenderly ruffle Sora's hair, leading the other's head to rest against his shoulder. "Give me a moment to try to eat and pull my thoughts together, Sora."

Sora nodded. He would give Riku all the time he wanted as long as he knew Riku was eventually going to talk. Whatever was bothering his boyfriend, Sora knew it had to do with Maleficent, he had figured out that much. Sora wasn't going to let her split him and Riku apart though, no matter what she had said. So he willingly let Riku think, happy to cuddle against the other's side for a few moments.

Riku ate slowly, either trying to stall or genuinely forcing himself to swallow every bite. Sora suspected the latter judging by Riku's unhappy expression; when Riku got sick, an event that had only happened a few times, the first thing that went always seemed to be his appetite. After a few minutes of patient silence though, Riku put the now half-empty bowl back down onto the table then wrapped both of his arms around Sora, holding the other boy close. "Sora, she revealed something to me while I was trapped inside of that room, something about me. Something which may be hurting you, which is the only reason I can bring myself to tell you about it."

Sora tilted his head to the side curiously, burrowing deeper into Riku's arms as he absently took one of Riku's colder hands into his smaller one. "What is it?"

Riku closed his eyes for a moment then sighed. "You know in order to live, I need to stay inside this house, except for only short periods of time." Sora nodded encouragingly. "It has become apparent that there is something else I draw my energy from, and that thing is unfortunately, you."

Starting, Sora sat up, pulling away from Riku's now limp grasp as he straightened up. Riku continued, talking faster, becoming less eloquent as he slipped into a near panic. "I expect that you understand the consequences of this, and realize that it would be safer for you if you were to distance yourself from me completely. You saw today what could happen, if I'm kept from this house for too long, I can only draw energy from you and I can't control how much energy I take away. I don't want to hurt you, so I think that if I were to stay in this house or on the property for the rest of my life you could go ahead and live however you wanted. Without you, I would most likely be able to take care of myself, possibly leave the house for two or three hours at a time without too-painful costs-"

Sora silenced him with a gentle finger to his lips and Riku heaved a sigh against the fingertip, glancing over at Sora who had up to this point just been watching him ramble. But now the younger's eyebrows were furrowed thoughtfully. "So…what you're saying is that if I was with you all the time, we could leave the house for longer than just a few hours?"

Frowning, Riku grabbed Sora's silencing hand in his own, shaking his head fondly despite his distress. "Sora, I think you missed the point of this conversation. It's dangerous for your health for you to be around me. Even inside this house, I know it provides most of my energy but I'm still pulling some from you. As long as you're near me, you won't be able to live to your fullest."

"But where else would you get your energy?"

"She, that witch said that I could…follow her example. Steal energy from strangers." Riku frowned as he watched Sora's expression darken. He leaned over, staring at his shoes as he quietly murmured. "I would do it, if it meant keeping you safe."

Sora stared at him for a second and then suddenly punched Riku in the shoulder. "You can be so stupid sometimes!" Sora leaned down so that he could see Riku's face, a rebuking pout touching his lips when he met Riku's shocked gaze. "Would you really just fall into her trap that easily?"

"I would be doing it for you-"

"No you wouldn't! It'd be selfish because that's not what I'd want. I don't care, Riku." Sora shook his head, lifting Riku's chin. "I don't care if you need my energy to live. In fact I'm happy." Smiling a little, Sora chuckled weakly. "I love you. I don't care if I'm tired a lot or anything. I can handle it. But I can't live my life to its fullest unless you're there with me, so don't think you can just get rid of me because of something like that. Besides, between the two of us, and with everyone we know, I'm sure we could find some way for you to get energy without having to hurt innocent people, right?"

Riku chuckled weakly, his shoulders trembling as he hung his head to let his hair cover his face and hide his expression. Frowning worriedly, Sora was about to lean in when Riku suddenly lurched forward and pulled him to his chest, clutching onto the small body. Sora squeaked with surprise then relaxed, his expression softening when he realized that Riku was silently crying. Reaching up, Sora brushed the tears away before he tilted his head up and kissed Riku gently. Riku only clutch onto him tighter and returned the kiss as well as he could, his relief and appreciation tangible as he held Sora close.

From the doorway parlor, Axel could only shake his head, turning away to give the two the privacy they needed as Riku dealt with his overflowing emotions. He had gone to investigate when he and Roxas had heard Sora's raised voice but Axel could see that the older Strife kid was handling things well. He couldn't help but listen into the conversation though; the whole thing kind of sucked for Riku. He'd have to ask Demyx and the others about the possibility of getting Riku another energy source. But in the mean time, he fumbled inside his coat pocket for his cigarettes and his lighter, sitting back down at the dining room table with Roxas as he put the unlit cigarette between his lips.

Roxas scowled at the sight but ignored it in favor of concern for his brother. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're just working some issues out…" Axel flicked his lighter open and closed. "I guess I should get going though, leave you and the lovebirds to relax." Standing up, he ruffled Roxas's hair. "I'm glad you made it out safe, I'll call you soon though, okay? We can plan to hang out sometime."

He turned to leave the house when Roxas reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Wait. Don't go." When Axel turned back to look at him, Roxas frowned, unsure of what to say before he found his ground again. "I've still got your coat upstairs. If you hang around I can go get it for you."

Axel smiled, the expression causing Roxas's tight grip to loosen. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a few more minutes. I'll meet you out on the porch, alright?"

Roxas nodded, relief washing through him as he finally let go of Axel's shirt, watching for a minute as the thin red-head walked toward the door before getting up himself and heading to his room. The coat was lying on his bed where he had placed it before going to take a shower. Roxas couldn't help but smile as he picked it up, running his fingers along the warm, black leather. He really was starting to fall hard for Axel. The young man lived in an entirely different world though. Roxas's brows furrowed; Axel was almost graduating college, he lived in an apartment far away from his parents, he was a full-fledged adult. But Roxas himself…Roxas sighed as he looked down at his hands, next to Axel's they looked like a little kid's hands or something. But still, he really liked Axel, and if Axel actually was interested in him, then maybe there was actually a chance? If he actually tried to respond to Axel's advances, could things actually go beyond idiotic flirting and awkward, tense moments? Either way, it was beginning to take too much effort to pretend that Axel's advances weren't affecting him. Especially after that rescue; he was doomed to be in love with the red-head. Shaking himself out of his thoughts when he realized that he was spending too much time in his room, Roxas pulled Axel's coat into his arms, hugging it close to his body as he hurried back downstairs.

When he got out to the porch, he found that Axel leaning over the railing, halfway done with his cigarette, the lazy autumn air filled with the scent of smoke. Coughing lightly, Roxas slung Axel's coat onto the rail beside the man then hopped up to sit on top of it. "You should stop smoking."

Chuckling low, Axel blew out a smoke ring. "I know. Reno's been telling me that for years. Hasn't stopped me yet though, it's addicting, you know?"

Roxas paused then smiled a little as a thought hit him. "Hey, Axel."

"Hm?"

"If you stop smoking for a week, I'll go out with you for dinner and a movie."

Axel choked on the bit of smoke he had just pulled into his mouth, coughing it back out. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"You heard me. If you don't smoke for an entire week, that's seven whole days, I will willingly go with you to wherever you want to eat and then go see a movie."

Nearly purring, Axel moved over, pulling his cigarette out of his mouth and trapping Roxas on the porch railing as he put his hands on either side of the teen. "Any reason for this particular kindness?"

"What, I can't be worried about your health?"

"Oh, I've got no problem with that," Axel smirked, "But that does sound damn close to a date to me. You had better explain yourself before I start assuming things."

Roxas swallowed, his face turning red as he clutched onto the rail, resisting the urge to shove Axel away and run for his chastity. It was a hard defensive mechanism to resist, and the only thing that stopped him was the thought that maybe Axel had indeed finally worn him down. "Well…" he murmured, Axel close enough to hear him, his cheeks coloring as he stumbled over his words a little. All of his senses had suddenly amplified as soon as Axel had leaned in, and Roxas was noticing everything from the way the tattoos under Axel's eyes shifted as he smirked to the smell of the cigarette smoke curling around them as it rested between two of Axel's fingers beside them. "After that rescue, I think you can assume whatever you want."

"So damn cute." Axel's low chuckle sent a shiver down Roxas's back and he closed his eyes as Axel leaned forward, too wrapped up in Axel's charm to be offended by the description. The touch of their lips was tentative, cautious on Axel's side and inexperienced on Roxas's, but when Axel pulled away after a moment, Roxas was still stunned.

Laughing quietly, Axel leaned their foreheads together, running his hand through Roxas's hair, the blond strands still damp from his earlier shower. "We'll have more time in a week to get you used to that. Shit-!" He cursed as he suddenly felt his fingers burning, the cigarette having smoldered down to its bottom, then threw it down onto the porch and stomped it out with his boot.

His shout had snapped Roxas out of his daze and the blond teen scowled at the black mark the cigarette left on the porch wood. "Axel, you idiot! You see, this is why you shouldn't frickin' smoke, it damages other people's property! You had better sand that out because Leon is so going to give me the job when he hears you did it."

"Don't worry, Roxy, I'll take care of it. But just so you won't have to wear down your precious little hands." He smirked as he saw Roxas almost visibly bristle. Kissing Roxas was fun, but somehow irritating his little blond was nearly as good. Not quite though. Bending down, Axel pecked Roxas on the lips, straightening back up even before Roxas had realized what had happened.

When he did though, Roxas's angry flush darkened and he took a half-hearted swing at Axel's stomach. "Why are you still such a damn pervert?!"

"Aw, only for you though." Axel ruffled Roxas's hair again, fluffing up the damp spikes.

Roxas sighed, his blue eyes falling to the ground with muffled embarrassment. He glanced out passed the porch and into the court, wanting to make sure that none of their neighbors were looking. He did not need any of them telling Cloud or Leon that they were kissing. Lucky though, no one seemed to be outside at the moment. His eyes did stop however, on the horizon, on a black spot. Frowning, Roxas leaned into Axel's side, watching it for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "That's weird."

"What is?"

"That bird. It's flying really straight."

Axel followed Roxas's gaze, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the bird too. It wasn't until a crow's or raven's caw hit his ears that he grabbed Roxas's sleeve and dragged him inside the house, locking the door behind him. Sora had stood up at the sound of the door slamming, his eyes wide and confused as Axel rushed passed him to snap the curtains closed, throwing the room into darkness. There was a pause before a light clicked on, Sora standing by the switch. "Axel, what are you doing?"

"There's a raven outside."

From the couch, Riku started then shakily stood up. "Do we have anything to defend ourselves?"

Axel frowned, running a hand through his spikes. "Man, I should have grabbed some stuff from my car before coming inside." Scowling, Axel leaned up against the window, taking a breath before peeking outside the window, cursing when he saw the raven perched on the railing Roxas had just been sitting on, its eyes locked onto him. Covering the window quickly, Axel took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "Do you have any iron, salt, anything that we've given you over the years?"

Sora frowned. "I'll check the upstairs and get Cloud and Leon."

As his older brother dashed upstairs, Roxas turned to Axel, "I can check the kitchen for enough salt for whatever you want to do with it."

Letting out a sigh, Riku turned his gaze to Axel as well. "Look for iron as well as you can. I will check the basement to see if there are any iron tools, Leon has been working down there often lately." Both of them raised their heads as a sudden chill fell over the house, literally falling like a sheet over them. It was then that Axel heard a sort of scratching coming from the windows, as if something was scraping against all of them at once.

Riku's head had jerked up in the direction of the stairs not one second before the sudden crash of glass echoed from above followed by Sora's shriek. "_Riku!"_ Riku was up the stairs in an instant, his feet pounding against the floorboards, not even pausing to care if Axel was behind him. When he got upstairs into his and Sora's room, he found Sora clutching his chest by the door, his blue eyes wide as he pointed at the window. "R-Riku, the window!"

Riku's eyes flashed to the window and he saw what he originally thought was a spike poking through. One second glance though, he realized it was actually connected to a larger branch; it was a thorn. He ran to the window, his aqua eyes widening. The entire yard was full of black thorn bushes.

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	15. Chapter 15: Forest of Thorns

Chapter 15

Salve, dudes! Wow, 27 reviews again. I must have done something right in that last chapter. Something tells me it has something to a certain kiss…Guess I'll have to do that more often. ;) So much thanks, multae gratis, to my great number of reviewers: Suna's Assassin, SarahXxUnlovedxX, A-chan, BokuraNoLoveStyle, CloakedxSchemer, Aindel S. Druida, ooXloveXoo582, Takara Zizumea, ramen-is-my-goddess, Before-I-Fall, Yours For all Eternity, Duskri, Tinker16, NightmareFairy, Bitter-Sweet Beauty x3, BlueFox of the Moon, XfallenXshadowX, Scootkadoot, CloudedMirror, Mare Dragon, The Flurry of Destiny, Poet Bucky, DemonicxTears, Ivy J., -IvyBlonde-, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Miah The Storm Wolf!

Oh yes, I'm not going to tell you why quite yet, but I promise if you dudes can get me to 400 reviews by the time I finish this story, good things will happen!

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The thorns had literally overgrown everything, the twisting gnarled branches had sprung up and swallowed the house whole, their great mass blocking out the setting sun and casting the rooms of the house into shadow. Looking down at the branch that had jutted into their room, Riku scowled and pulled some energy out of the house. Taking a step back from the window, he pushed his hand out into the air, channeling the energy into the movement and into forcing the branch out of his space. The branch shuddered, curling back into itself as Riku pressed harder. After another moment it finally gave and snapped away from the pressure and back outside, allowing Riku to give a soft sigh of relief. Usually he was able to manipulate things so easily in the house; obviously Maleficent's powers far exceeded his, even when he was on his own property.

Once the branch was back outside, Riku turned to Sora, taking hold of the younger's arm when he saw it tremble. "It is going to be alright, Sora. I'm here and Axel's here, we will not let anything hurt you or Roxas."

"I'm worried about you too!" Sora moved closer to Riku, "You're not healthy enough for this yet."

Riku frowned, placing his hand on Sora's shoulder. He knew he wasn't healthy enough; he could already feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest from that small amount of paranormal force, but looking down at Sora's scared blue eyes, he also knew that he was going to die before he stopped trying to keep Sora safe. "I will be fine," he murmured. "I know my limits."

His words seemed to calm Sora somewhat and so Riku let his senses ripple out to the house. They were indeed surrounded by the thorn bushes, the spiny branches were scraping against all of the outer walls, gouging into the siding. Suddenly, an acid green light flashed outside and Riku started as the number of thorns drastically increased out of no where. His senses gave him a half-second warning before the sound of glass shattering echoed from outside their room, two shouts snapping him and Sora into a run.

Flying by Roxas's bedroom, Riku threw away propriety and flung open the door to Cloud and Leon's room. His eyes widened and he braced himself at the doorway; the room had been filled with thorns. Just visible in the tangle of branches was Cloud, pinned against the wall adjacent to the window. Paling at the sight, Sora called out. "Cloud!"

Cloud hissed between his teeth, twisting a little as if to test just how trapped he really was. "I'm fine. Leon! Where are you, are you okay?"

"I'm pinned to the goddamn bed!" There was the sound of ripping fabric followed by a curse. "Shit! One of them caught my sleeve. Riku, Sora, what the hell is going on?"

Not able to actually see Leon, but comforted by the fact that the man was still able to talk, Riku shook his head. "She's here."

From the wall, Cloud's face had turned white and he tried to push against some of the branches trapping him without completely cutting up his hands. While none of them had pierced his skin or clothes, they had formed an impenetrable screen around him. He hissed again as one small thorn managed to catch his skin and pulled his hand back to his chest. "I'm going to need something to cut this. Find something if you can but take care of yourselves first. Leon and I can handle ourselves."

Riku frowned as he felt Sora tense behind him and felt out tentatively with the energy in the house, pressing the air against the tangle of thorns. It didn't budge. It was like the small branch that had burst through his and Sora's room but much stronger, the huge amount of them was overwhelming. He wouldn't be able to do anything for them, and he would not be able to get those vines out of his house. The thought brought a frown to Riku's face as Sora protested.

"But, Cloud-"

Leon interrupted Sora with a low growl. "Riku, get Sora downstairs and don't you dare let him or Roxas out of your sight."

Sora gasped as Riku nodded and took his wrist then dragged him down the hall. Indignant, Sora tried to pull out of the other's grip. "Riku, let me go! We have to help Cloud and Leon!"

"And we will, but my first priority is making sure that you and your brother are safe." Glancing back at his disgruntled boyfriend, Riku smiled weakly, loosening his hold on the other's wrist when they reached the stairs. "I promise, we will help them as soon as we can, trust me."

Sora bit his lip but nodded, glancing once more toward Leon and Cloud's bedroom before following Riku down the stairs, matching the other's fast pace by taking two stairs at a time. They were halfway down when they heard a sudden shatter and metal clattering coming from the parlor; the sound of another window breaking. Riku braced himself then ran quickly into the parlor, his eyes widening when he saw Axel with their fireplace poker fighting against one of Maleficent's demons that seemed to have crashed through their front window. It would have been almost a comical duel, if Axel didn't already have a bleeding scratch on his arm from the rusty short sword the creature was using and if he wasn't blocking Roxas from the thing's attack.

Clenching his teeth, Axel swung out at the thing as it tried to skirt around him to get to the unarmed Roxas, the red head just barely catching sight of Riku and Sora in the doorway. "Stay back guys, this thing's out for blood!"

Riku felt his hands clench into fists as he watched Axel block a vicious jab to the chest just in time, the tip of the sword managing to cut across his shirt before Axel could push it away with the poker. He was sick of things coming into his house. He was sick of things breaking through his windows. He was sick of things attacking his family.

The lights flickered as his temper rose and beside him he could feel Sora shiver lightly as the room dropped in temperature but couldn't bring himself to comfort his boyfriend. From the doorway, he lifted his hand then jerked it to the side. Halfway across the room the demon Axel had been fighting suddenly flew against the wall. Panting, Axel glanced over at Riku whose eyes were narrowed with barely-suppressed rage. The red-head stepped back as Riku jerked his hand sideways again. The creature flew from the wall, smashing out of the window that it had jumped into and was tossed effortlessly by supernatural force into the thorn bushes. The rest of the glass that had been clinging to the window frame fell out with a tinkling clatter and Riku turned to Axel, his eyes still narrowed. "What have you found?"

Axel motioned down to a small pile of items a few feet away then leaned down to grab the edge of the coffee table. "Not much. But first, help me move this to cover the window. We don't need any more of those things jumping in."

The four of them managed to lift the table up so that it was covering most of the window, but Sora frowned lightly as he looked at their work. "Axel, can't they still come in the other windows that aren't blocked?"

"Yeah, but the sound of the glass should give us enough time to defend ourselves before they get into this room. That last one nearly landed on my back when it jumped through the window. I had to grab the first thing I could reach." He swung the poker then dropped it back over by the fireplace with an ironic smirk. "Turns out it was the wrong thing to grab. This poker probably isn't made out of iron, probably nickel or lead or something, that punk didn't even bat an eye when I jabbed him with it. So what we have left is," moving back over to their pile of supplies, he sighed, "not very much. Cell phone service, land-line service are all cut off and your house seriously lacks ghost hunting foresight. If we could only get to my van we'd be better off; I didn't unpack it before I came over."

Riku looked over the pile. It was true, they did have very little iron in the house. After all, why bother when you could have more decorative materials like copper or silver? And as for salt, well, who had more than a small container of salt lying around? What they found was a rather depressing collection of a few pots, a small statue, a little salt, and a few bits of other odds and ends. He was surprised though, to recognize the statue, and picked it up delicately. It was a figure of an angel with holding a sword. It was damaged, but he could still recognize it as having belonged to his father. Sephiroth used to keep it on his writing desk. "Axel…where did you find this piece?"

"The basement. There were a ton of boxes in the corners, so I started digging through them. It was sitting right on top."

Riku suddenly tensed, as if remembering something as his eyes brightened. "I will check the basement again. Hopefully something else was still there that you missed on first glance."

"Wait, Riku-!" Axel frowned as Riku hurried off toward the basement then pursed his lips. "Great. One man down already." He glanced over at Sora, "So, where are Cloud and Leon?"

Paling, Sora wrapped his arms around himself, trying to rub some warmth back into his skin. "They're trapped upstairs, by the thorns!"

Roxas's eyes widened and Axel kicked the upright table. "Damn it, things are not going my way! The only reason we're still alive is probably because Riku's got a good grip on this place!" He grimaced at his own words when he saw Sora and Roxas's horrified faces then ran a hand through his hair. "That's not what I meant to say. Just…know that we're probably a little over our heads with this." Seeing that neither Strife boy looked any happier, Axel sighed. "Alright. Roxas got us a bit of salt, so if I can get to the thresholds in your dads' room, I should be able to keep them safe. We can go up there together while Riku's searching the basement."

Though Sora was slightly wary to leave Riku downstairs on his own, he knew his boyfriend would be able to handle any of those monsters by himself. If Maleficent came, well, none of them were ready for that yet so far as Sora could tell. As they were climbing the stairs, Sora murmured quietly to Roxas, his voice wavering. "Why hasn't she attacked us yet?"

Roxas frowned and reached back to grab Sora's hand comfortingly. "Probably because she doesn't think we're worth the fight. From what I've seen, she'll just let her minions do all the grunt work if she can get away with it."

"Or maybe she's waiting for us to try and make a decent defense," Axel muttered over his shoulder. "She seems the type to want to play with her prey before she kills it." Sensing Roxas's glare on his back, Axel shrugged as he reached the top of the stairs. "Hey, I'm just saying what I'm thinking."

"Well think more positively then." Roxas snapped. He pushed passed Axel, still holding onto Sora's hand, a sign that he was more worried about their situation than he was going to let on. There was no way he was going to let Sora out of his sight. When they reached Leon and Cloud's room though, Roxas's blue eyes widened when he saw that the room was indeed filled nearly to the ceiling with overgrown thorns, some of the nasty-looking spikes even longer than the length of his hand. "Axel…"

"Shit." Axel walked as far as he could into the room, container of salt in hand, calling out when he spotted Cloud against the wall, the older blond having been unable to gain any movements during the last few minutes. At least Cloud wasn't literally stuck to the wall though, he had just been backed up against it. "Yo, Cloud!"

Cloud turned his head. "Axel. What are you doing up here?"

"Helping you?" Axel looked at the space where the window would be then got down on his hands and knees before sighing and glancing up at Sora and Roxas. "Alright. Here's the deal. I need to get over to the window to put down a line of salt, which should seal the threshold and keep it safe from anything supernatural coming in. We actually did this to this room and Roxas's when Xemnas was in the house, but it's obviously been broken up over the past few years. Unfortunately, I'm going to need to pick my way over there, which is not going to be fun. There's kind of an opening on the ground though, so maybe some tight maneuvering and a few belly crawls could get me over there." Axel reached into his pocket. "Also, I've got this," Roxas was half-afraid that he was going to pull out his lighter and threaten to burn the plant but relaxed when he saw that Axel had only pulled out his pocket knife. "It can't cut through the thickest of it, but it might help."

"Why didn't you use that to fight that armored freak downstairs?"

"Hey, it kind of came out of nowhere, I had to think fast! Besides, grabbing the damn poker took less time than getting my knife would have--plus it was longer."

Roxas snorted then looked up at Axel's tall frame then over at the thorns and the barely-there crawlspace that the red head was supposedly going to try to crawl into. There was pretty much no way Axel and all of his long, skinny limbs were going to make it through in any acceptable amount of time without being bloodied. With a sigh, he reached over and snatched the pocket knife and salt out of Axel's hands.

"Hey, I was holding that. And what the hell are you doing?"

Roxas rolled his eyes as he lay down on the ground. "You're too big to fit through, idiot. Besides, all you have to do is put the salt across the window frame, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-" Axel ran a hand through his spiky red hair, him and Sora crouching down as they watched Roxas slide down under the greatest mass of thorns. "Be careful, okay?"

"Believe me, I'm being as careful as I can."

It took a few minutes but Roxas managed to maneuver his way though the small gaps that the thorn branches offered until he reached the window. His clothes had been snagged a few times on the thorns but he was happily surprised to find that he had made it through without getting any large cuts on his skin, only a few surface scratches here and there. Opening up the salt container, he called out through the mass of branches. "So Axel, I just have to make a line on the bottom of the window frame, right?"

"Yeah, make sure there are no breaks in the salt line though, we don't want to have to come back to fix it."

Rolling his eyes, Roxas nonetheless began to pour out the salt onto the window frame. It got a little tricky at some points where the branches were scraping up against it, but Roxas made sure at least that there was a continuous line of some sort. Halfway through the process, which had until now been done in relative silence, Leon spoke up from the bed. "Roxas, can you see Cloud?"

Roxas turned his head. He could see Cloud, well, sort of. He could see flashes of the other through the thick branches anyway. "A little."

"Good. If you can, give him the knife when you head out. We can start to get ourselves out of this mess while you take care of yourselves."

Roxas nodded then made a noise of agreement when he realized Leon wouldn't have been able to see the nod. After he spread out the last bit of the salt, he began to pick his way back through the bushes. He managed to get close enough to Cloud to hand off the knife, which Cloud immediately began to use to start cutting at the nearest branch. When Roxas finally crawled out from the bushes, Axel and Sora pulled him up and away from the thorns. With a huff, Roxas brushed them both off then handed what was rest of the salt over to Axel. "I'm fine, quit worrying. I tried not to use all of what we had, but there's still not much left."

Axel shook the salt container then shrugged. "We'll manage." He took a step back to the doorway then tipped the container, guiding the salt in a thin, but constant line along the ground. "See? Worked out perfectly. Cloud, Leon, the salt should protect you against anything trying to get in, hopefully it'll also stop any more spontaneous plant growth in here."

"And what if something does come in?" Leon asked, "How do we defend ourselves?"

"Beg for mercy maybe?" Axel shrugged and smirked, though the expression looked slightly sick. "I don't know. If something's strong enough to break through the salt barrier then we're all kind of screwed."

"Good to know…"

Axel chuckled weakly then grabbed both Sora and Roxas's shoulders. "We're going to go find Riku and hopefully stay alive now, have fun you two!"

Roxas punched Axel's arm as they left the room, protesting a little by dragging his feet as the red head urged them forward. "'Have fun?' What was that about? Can't you just be serious for once?"

Axel sighed, his hand putting a little pressure on Roxas's shoulder. "Roxy, this is how I deal. You get cranky, I start cracking jokes. It's not a perfect combination for a relationship, I admit, but I'm sure we'll make it work somehow." He walked them over to the stairs. "Now come on, we have to find Sora's scary boyfriend before that witch decides to join the party."

Sora frowned, though it came out more like a pout as he started down the first few stairs. "Riku's not scary, he was just mad."

"Yeah, but when he gets pissed off he gets telekinetic and things start flying. That's scary."

Sora shook his head, about to retort when the window by the front door suddenly shattered and an armored creature came tumbling inside, shaking itself off as Axel grabbed Sora and Roxas's arms. "Back upstairs!" He yelled, "Get into your parents' room!"

Sora and Roxas started sprinting up the stairs when the window in the second story hallway also shattered, a pig-like monster with an axe coming into view not a second later, running toward them like it was out for blood. Stopping in his tracks, Sora grabbed Roxas's hand and pulled him back. "Axel!"

Turning around just momentarily, Axel cursed when he saw that they were surrounded. "Damn it!" Grabbing both of the Strife boys, he pulled them behind himself as best he could, using the wall and trying to act as a shield against two oncoming directions. He had no idea what the hell he was going to do; there was no way he could protect both of them if the demons decided to attack at the same time.

Axel tensed as the two creatures ran at them, readying himself for the blows as they both raised their weapons. He could feel Roxas grabbing his shirt from behind, then closed his eyes as they both screamed from behind him as the weapons fell.

He felt a rush of air in front of him and his eyes snapped open to see that Riku in front of him and both of the demons sprawled at the top of the stairs. The pale younger man was panting from the effort of having run up from the basement and throwing both creatures up the stairs, one hand outstretched from when he had blasted the things away. Axel backed up a little because the pale young man's other hand was clutching a long sword.

Riku pushed up the stairs, putting himself between the creatures and the others, sword at the ready. "Everyone stay behind me."

One of the monsters had righted itself, its armor rattling as it shook itself off and ran back down the stairs. But Riku was ready for it and swung with practiced ease, his longer sword easier reaching the monster first and slicing the thing nearly in two. Once again, it disappeared into a puff of ash and Riku ran through the falling dust to rush the other one before it could do any damage. After he had disposed of them both, Riku slowly let the tip of the sword drop to the ground, his breath coming out in pants and muffled gasps.

Tentatively, Sora moved forward, and put a careful hand on Riku's sword arm. Riku tensed for a second then relaxed and turned to Sora, his eyes worried. "Sora." He reached up to touch his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm just happy you came in time!"

Riku sighed with relief, leaning their foreheads together. "Me too. I nearly had a heart-attack when I heard you scream."

"Not to interrupt a tender moment, but where the hell did you find that sword?"

Riku glanced down at the sword, his hand tightening it around the hilt as he lifted it up as if to inspect it for the first time. A frown flickered across his lips. "It was my father's." Riku glanced over at Axel. "That statue you found was one of my father's favorite pieces. I knew if it was still here, then more of his valuables would also be down there. This was inside its case completely buried underneath boxes and items from families that came after but I assume he left it to try and forget the bad memories. Although he did clean it after killing Ansem." He paused for a moment then shook his head. "In any case, it's made of steel, which is mostly iron, and as you saw, it should work for our needs."

Axel nodded then took Roxas's hand. "Good. We can use it when we go outside."

Riku frowned. "Go outside?"

"Well, yeah." Glancing down at Roxas, Axel sighed lightly. "We aren't going to win with just a sword. I have my chakrams and some spell papers left over in my van. If we want to live through this, we need to get to them."

Roxas met Axel's gaze. He saw worry in those eyes, perhaps even a smothered panic. Axel's hand was warm around his, sweaty from the adrenaline of nearly being cut open. Roxas could still feel his own heart pounding rapidly in his chest. If Riku hadn't run up the stairs when he did, Axel could have very well been killed. He could have lost Axel before they really got to know each other, before he could figure out just how much Axel meant to him. The thought sent a shiver up his spine and he moved closer to the red head before speaking, the slight tremble in his voice betraying his residing fear. "So, what? We're going to run out there and hope we don't get killed?"

"That's about it," Axel replied. "Riku will go first, hopefully that sword can hack through the thorns well enough to clear a path for the rest of us."

Looking down at the long blade in his hands, Riku shrugged. "It should be able to cut through plants, even without having been properly sharpened."

"Right then, let's go. I'll cover our backs."

"That's the plan?" Roxas looked incredulously up at Axel, his lips twisting into a frown. "Seriously?"

"Don't worry, Roxy, I'll take any hits for you. Besides, we don't have much else of a choice. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks. If we go out, we'll be exposed but at least there'll be a chance of us managing to grab something to actually fight back with. And we still don't have any idea where she actually is, so hell, she could already be in the house for all we know." Axel adjusted his grip on Roxas's hand. "You've got to trust me. If there was any other way, I'd bring it up."

Roxas bit his lip, his gaze falling to their clasped hands. It was silly. He didn't even know when Axel had grabbed his hand in the first place; for all he knew he could have been the one to reach out first. Either way, it felt right. And he knew Axel wouldn't purposefully throw them into danger. That he was trying as hard as he could. Raising his eyes again, Roxas could see a hesitant fear in Axel's, reminding him that Axel was just one young man in college who probably was much less confident of his ideas than his façade suggested. Swallowing, Roxas nodded. "I trust you. It's not like we have any other choice after all."

Axel returned the nod, his grip on Roxas's hand tightening as the four of them slowly walked down the stairs. Before Roxas realized it, they were standing in front of the front door. Finally, Axel moved, reaching for the knob. "Alright. Keep to the plan. Riku's first, I'm last, we're making a dash for the car. Let's stay as quiet as we can."

He gave everyone a moment for everyone to collect themselves then open the door. Instantly, Riku rushed out the door, sword raised as he began striking at the bushes with violent force. Although progress was painfully slow, the branches and thorns broke easily under Sephiroth's blade. Riku swung with the precision of years of training, cutting away only the largest branches in their path, knowing that the others could brush aside the smaller ones. Sora followed behind him, then Roxas. Roxas knew he was probably squeezing the life out of Axel's hand but the young man took it silently and pushed Roxas along. Every time they moved forward the lighting shifted through the tangle of branches that formed a tunnel around and over them and with every step Roxas saw new flashes of shadow dart by them. Every time he nearly cried out, memories of invisible monsters rushing back to him from being in the warehouse for too long.

Feeling Roxas get tenser and tenser, Axel put his free hand on Roxas's shoulder. It made Roxas feel a little better, but the sense of paranoia was still there, so when he heard a faint rustle behind them, he was quick to whip around. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw a armored monster running at Axel's back, the tip of its spear pointed at the back of Axel's chest. Without a second thought, he pulled Axel against himself, shouting out a warning to the other two as he and Axel fell back, toppling off-balance. Thorns stung Roxas's back as he tumbled back against the wall of bushes, Axel throwing out his arms as Riku and Sora turned.

Riku was quick to act and lurched forward, parrying the spear strike with the blade of the sword and forcing the thing to take a step back. While it was righting itself, Riku plunged the sword down, the tip of the sword hitting the cement walkway of the front yard as the creature gave way to a cloud of ash.

Having seen the kill, Axel then looked down at Roxas, the blond teen's face twisted with pain. Axel hurriedly got back onto his feet then lifted Roxas up and pulled him to his chest, letting out a sympathetic hiss when he saw that the younger had bloody scratches down the back of his shirt. "Shit, Roxas--"

Roxas shook his head, inhaling shakily to shake off all lingering need to cry. "It's fine. Better than getting stabbed through the back anyway."

"I see the van!"

Roxas and Axel raised their heads at Sora's hushed exclamation. Indeed, the van was only a few feet ahead, wrapped up in thorns like some sort of expedition vehicle that had gotten lost in a jungle. Riku visibly steeled himself, shaking out his shoulders before pushing back to the front of their group. As he passed Sora, the brown-haired boy gave Riku's free hand a little squeeze. "I can take over, if you want."

Riku managed a smile before raising the sword up again. "I think I can manage a few more swings."

"Do you need any energy-?"

"-No." The reply was quick and curt, effectively cutting off any notion of carrying on the topic. Sora took the hint and stayed quiet, his expression more worried than insulted as Riku pressed forward. For a minute or so the only sound heard was the rhythmical sharp thump of the sword cleaving thorn branches apart but finally Riku paused. "I see the handle to the front door."

"And I actually remembered the keys." Axel moved forward and unlocked the door. It took a little effort to actually get enough space cleared to open the door, but eventually Axel slipped inside, crawling over the driver's seat. The thick cover of thorns surrounding the car cut out most of the light so Axel had to first fish out the flashlight he kept stowed under the passenger seat. But when he turned it on and turned the light to the back of the van he had to smirk despite everything. His chakrams were there, glinting in the flashlight glow and sitting on top of duffel bags and boxes full of equipment. It looked like they had a chance after all.

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	16. Chapter 16: Time is Not on Our Side

Chapter 16

Whoot! Chapter 16 is here! And I got so many reviews for the last chapter. You dudes are easily on your way to 400. Can't tell you what you'll earn with that goal yet, don't want to distract you from the story on hand, but I want to give this to you guys. So review! Thanks to those people who did review: BlueFox of the Moon, Suna's Assassin, CloudedMirror, BokuraNoLoveStyle, Aindel S. Druida, Before-I-Fall, Scootkadoot, Yours For all Eternity, ooXloveXoo582, DemonicxTears, ramen-is-my-goddess, XfallenXshadowX, fei8000000, A-chan, Keira-93, CloakedxSchemer, chibi heishi, Miah The Storm Wolf, -IvyBlonde-, The Flurry of Destiny, Takara Zizumea! Thanks much!

Ah yes, and, as a warning. This one very much has a cliffhanger. A lot of you were saying how the endings to some of my previous chapters were cliffhangers. Well, this is what I consider a cliffhanger. Just so you know. As a warning before hand. FYI. Next chapter will be up in a week. ;)

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The first thing Axel did once he was inside the car was surprisingly not to reach for his chakrams, but instead to dig into his pocket. A second later he pulled out his cell phone with a triumphant chuckle, quickly flipping it open as he crawled into the back of the van. Following him into the car, and just managing to smother a wince as the fabric of his shirt rubbed against the cuts on his back, Roxas raised an eyebrow as he watched the red-head speed dial a number and put the phone up to his ear. "I thought you said that we couldn't get any service with all the spirit activity in the air."

Axel winked back at him. "After our first encounter with Xemnas and Riku, we had the car lined with special insulation, well, lined with charms and such. It cancels out all magnetism coming from the outside and thus, I can make a call." He looked away as the person on the other end of the line picked up, beginning to rustle through some of the bags and boxes. "Dem, hey. It's Axel. Listen, I don't have much time, but we have a situation at the Strife house." He paused for a second and pulled a red box from beneath one of the numerous duffel bags, throwing it at Roxas. "Here, have Sora look at your back. No, Dem, I wasn't talking to you."

As Axel kept talking, Roxas looked back to Sora. Sora had apparently heard Axel because he was already climbing up into the driver's seat beside his brother, leaving Riku to sit on the lip of the open door, the silver-haired young man leaning wearily over his sword although his eyes were carefully watching the surrounding area.

Roxas sighed a little but scooted over just a bit to give his brother room to work, handing the red box over as he took off his shirt. As soon as he pulled the fabric up over his head, he heard Axel let out a small whistle. Immediately, Roxas turned bright red, his eyes snapping over to Axel who only gave him a wink. Growling, Roxas threw his shirt at the red-head. "Look somewhere else, you damn pedo!"

Axel shook his head, catching the shirt one-handed. "Roxy, you wound me to my very core." A frown flickered across his lips as he looked down at the blood-tinged shirt, his expression suddenly becoming serious again. "Dem, you're going to have to get over here as soon as possible. Call Auron and explain what's going on. I don't know how much longer we have before everything goes to hell."

Roxas hissed a little as he suddenly felt the cold sting of antiseptic against his cuts, twisting his head as well as he could to try and see what Sora was doing.

"Stay still," Sora murmured. "There aren't any bandages big enough in here to cover your scratches, so I want to make sure to clean everything as good as I can."

Since there wasn't much he could do besides clean the cuts, Sora took only a minute or so to finish up. Axel had hung up and was taking the time to collect as many things as he could lay his hands on. As Sora declared that he was done, Axel tuned back to them, motioning down to the items in his arms. "Alright. I've got two fire spell sheets, a bit of holy water, some of Namine and Demyx's charms," He held up two little wooden pieces carved with pagan symbols, "and my chakrams. The rest, unfortunately, is all ghost testing equipment, and I'm pretty sure it's already been established that there are supernatural things here. Here's your shirt back, Roxy. Personally, I'm not sure if you need it, but-"

Roxas snatched said shirt from Axel's outstretched hand, hurriedly slipping it back on and tugging it into place. Now was not the time for Axel's flirtations, no matter how much they brought a pleasant fluttering sensation into his stomach. Axel seemed to realize this too but he couldn't help himself and suddenly moved closer to Roxas to press a small kiss to Roxas's forehead. "Thanks for saving me from becoming a human pin cushion, Roxy. I appreciate it."

Roxas blushed red again, the blush even tinting his ears as his eyes darted instinctively over to Sora who was grinning ear to ear. Thankfully he was saved from further embarrassment when Riku spoke up, his low voice bringing everyone back into a serious frame of mind. "Although I would hate to ruin a moment, I would very much like to know what our plan is."

Axel swallowed, gazing back out at the thorns around the car. The brief moment of calm had been necessary for his stress and sanity, but now it was time to get back to business. Stowing the spell sheets and holy water in a trench-coat pocket, Axel absently turned the small, wooden charms over in his hand. "We need to get back into the house. Now that we have a path open, all we have to worry about is those things attacking. Sora, Roxas, you each take one of these. They should protect you from getting hurt by those creatures."

He handed each boy a charm as Riku stood up, the silver-haired young man stumbling a step before finding his balance. Sora saw this and frowned, but bit his lip and stayed quiet. He didn't want to annoy Riku by offering his energy again. Sora was fine with the idea himself, he liked the idea of being able to take care of Riku in some way since his boyfriend was usually the one taking care of him, but he knew that Riku still needed to come to terms with the whole idea. Still, he stuck close to him, just in case Riku used the last ounce of his own energy and just collapsed.

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Demyx's face was pale as he hung up after listening to the dial tone of Axel's cell phone for a few stunned seconds. Zexion had apparently sensed that something was wrong though and quickly walked over, his visible eye narrowed with worried confusion. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Demyx suddenly gasped, the phone falling to the ground as he snapped out of his shock and he grabbed onto Zexion's sleeves. "Oh, gods! Zexy, we need to get over to their house! We have to call Auron, we have to go now!"

Frowning, Zexion grabbed onto Demyx's elbows, steadying the blond as Namine ran in to the room, the girl having heard Demyx's hysterical voice. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but start packing the car with the most powerful magic you have." When Namine had immediately done as Zexion had said, he turned back to Demyx, his voice soft but demanding as he ran a hand through Demyx's wild hair. "Dem, take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong. What happened to Axel?"

"She's at their house, Zexy! She's attacking the Strife family. We have to go now before they're all killed!"

Not even wasting the breath to question who "she" was, Zexion nodded and took charge of the situation, knowing that Demyx was in no state to work efficiently. He leaned down to pick their phone up off of the ground then his gaze meeting Demyx's as he straightened up. "Help Namine pack things up. I'll call Auron." Demyx stood to obey the order when Zexion quickly added. "Remember to grab my books. All of them, we don't know what we're going up against."

Demyx made it to the door then paused, smiling weakly at his boyfriend. "Thanks, Zexy."

Zexion gave him a quick and quiet smile before he began to dial Auron's memorized number. "It's not a problem. Now go, Namine will probably need help finding everything quickly."

Demyx left the room just as he heard Zexion start to speak quietly on the phone. He really was lucky to have Zexion. Biting his lip, he clapped his hands together, focusing his attention. Axel and the others were in trouble and they needed help. As soon as possible. Catching sight of Namine as she skirted back into her bedroom, Demyx chased after her to help, frowning as he walked into the room to see that she already had a pile of supplies; candles, incense, salt, crystals, and other items all piled together. "Are we going to bring all of this?"

Namine nervously tucked a strand of her white blond hair behind her ear, biting her lip as she looked at the large amount of items on her small bed. "We should, Dem. Theoretically, it should be fairly simple to banish Maleficent back into her staff, we could probably just do it with a magic circle, but I don't want to take any chances. Here, you carry the candles, salt, and incense to the car, I'll get the rest. Do you have anything in your room?"

"No, nothing." Demyx and Zexion had agreed when they moved into the same room that they wouldn't put anything of any religious nature into their bedroom. Well, Zexion did have one little cross and he did have one candle but it really was a carefully neutral room. Carrying everything Namine had asked him to through the apartment, Demyx caught a snatch of what Zexion was saying.

"-No, Axel's with them. I don't know what he had with him at the time. Probably his chakrams. I think I left a vial of holy water in the van for emergencies-"

Letting out a shaky breath, Demyx continued on to the front door. He knew Zexion could handle talking to Auron. And by the sound of it, Auron had already agreed to come with them; now he was just asking for the specifics.

By the time he and Namine had loaded everything up into the trunk of Zexion's small car, Zexion was already in the driver's seat and starting up the engine. As they slid into the car, Zexion started talking. "Auron will meet us at the Strife house. He suggests that we wait for him to get there until proceeding inside." He caught it as Demyx's eyes narrowed. Wasting time outside while Axel and the Strifes were possibly fighting for their lives obviously did not sit well with him. "I think," Zexion continued slowly, his eyes locked on the road, "that if we proceed with the upmost caution, we could start without him despite his advice. Emergencies do call for drastic measures after all."

Namine smiled with relief, "We should get there as soon as possible then!"

"I'm not speeding."

"Come on, Zexy! All the cops are busy inside the city cleaning up the mess with the prisoners anyway. What happened to the drastic measures?"

Zexion snorted. In the time that they reached the Strife's neighborhood though, it was clear that he probably did speed at least a little. The usually ten minute drive had only taken six, not enough time for anything too disastrous to happen from the time that Axel called.

When they pulled into the court though, hey were all surprised to see the Strife house standing innocently at the end, its only fault being its style's unconformity with the rest of the housing development. It looked as normal as it ever did, and Axel's car was parked calmly in the driveway. There weren't even any signs of life in the windows, certainly it wasn't the battleground that any of them had been expecting.

Parking out on the street, Demyx slowly stepped out of the car, eyeing the house with confusion. "It's very…quiet for being under supernatural attack, isn't it?"

Namine tilted her head to the side. "Something's not right with this picture." Lifting her hand, she reached forward, taking a few tentative steps at a time as if she was going to run into a glass wall. As soon as a foot had crossed onto the front lawn, she pulled back and shook her head. "It's like she's put up another illusion."

"Like the one from the warehouse?"

"No, different. This one is much less permanent, almost hap-hazardly put up, probably because she expected this to take very little time. It almost has the same feel as a demonic illusion, perhaps slightly weaker." Clasping her hands together, Namine's delicate blond eyebrows furrowed lightly, "Undoubtedly, she is using it to keep away the suspicions of the neighbors. But Zexion, you probably know more about this than I do."

Zexion frowned, walking up to the invisible boundary between what was real and what was deception. "If this truly is similar to demonic illusion, than yes, I know a little about it."

"A little? I thought you said that was your specialty." Demyx said.

Zexion rolled his eyes. "I said it was my main interest. And as we have seen so far in this case, high-powered illusions are still beyond my ability to tear down on my own." He paused, eyeing the house for a moment before walking back to the car and opening the trunk. "I can't tear down the entire illusion by myself. The best I will be able to do without the aid of a certified priest is to simply disillusion all of us, so that we will be immune to it. Come here, you two."

When Demyx and Namine walked over, they could see that he had a vial of holy water and a book in his hands. The first thing Zexion did was cross himself then uncork the bottle. Sighing, he murmured a prayer than got a finger wet, drawing a cross in water on all three of their foreheads. Then he opened his book, flipping to a certain passage.

Demyx closed his eyes as Zexion read from his book. The first thing he noticed the instant Zexion finished was the smell. The smell of fire and burning. His eyes flew open as he heard Namine gasp, his own eyes widening as he saw that the illusion had indeed been dropped. The house was surrounded by a field of thorns, smoke pouring from the center of the tangle of branches. Namine, he knew, had sensed more than he had been able to by the way her face had paled.

At his side, Zexion was staring at the burning tangle in front of them, his own eyes wide as he could almost feel the evil rippling out. "Dear Lord, protect us." He murmured before he turned to Demyx and Namine, "We need a plan."

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After everyone had gotten out of the van, Axel locked it out of habit then heaved a chakram into each hand, spinning them around as he glanced at their surroundings.

Roxas followed his gaze, a frown flickering across his lips. "Axel, was it this quiet before?"

"Probably." The alternative was, of course, that Maleficent had called her minions back, which would be more concerning than just having to deal with those monsters. "But we should hurry up and get back to the house anyway. With any luck, Cloud and Leon will have gotten themselves out of their room." Axel motioned with a jerk of his head for them to start walking, his hands occupied by his weapons.

As before, Riku started walking first. He had only walked two steps though when a green bolt suddenly struck the ground barely a yard in front of his feet. He gasped sharply, throwing himself back against the others as the bolt flared into a green fire. A second later, a black form grew in the center of the blaze, stepping out a moment later to reveal Maleficent herself.

Roxas felt his throat tighten as he looked up into her narrowed green eyes, terror welling up in his chest as he grabbed onto Sora's arm. His brother pulled him close and Axel stepped in front of the two of them as Maleficent slammed her staff down, the metal clanging ominously against the cement.

She looked down at them all with obvious distain before her lips curved into a smile. With a harsh laugh, she addressed them, the fire growing behind her to consume the entire area of their carved-out path, offering no chance of escape toward the house. "Fools! Did you honestly think you could pose a threat? I gave you time to arm yourselves and you come up with a few metal wheels and some little pieces of wood, absolutely pathetic. But let us see if you have a chance!"

She lifted her hand then suddenly brought it down, green lightening shooting out toward them as if having materialized out of thin air. Riku had to literally jump back as Axel snatched Roxas and Sora out of the way, the electricity striking the ground where they had just been standing, leaving a burnt mark on the driveway concrete.

Roxas stared down at the spot, his blue eyes wide as he heard Maleficent laughing. When his gaze snapped back up to where Maleficent stood, he paled. The woman was gone, her laugh still echoing in the air. The fire was still blocking the path back to the house though, and Roxas turned as he heard Axel curse. "Shit, we need to get out of here."

That said, the red-head turned around and spun his chakrams in his hands, "We need to get out of these damn thorns!" He started to carve a new path, around the car, away from the fire as it began to grow. He didn't know how fast the thorns would burn, but he knew how fast fires could spread, and how it would be only too easy to get caught in the blaze. Pushing forward, he ignored any fatigue and the fading sound of Maleficent's laugh as he continued to hack away at the branches, spinning his chakrams as much as possible.

A small shriek from Sora behind him caused him to whip around to see that three of Maleficent's creatures were running down the path toward them. Riku grimaced but lifted his sword into a defensive position, meeting the monsters half-way down the path. Sora grasped Roxas's hand as he watched Riku fight, a shadow out of the corner of his eyes alerting him to danger nearer to them seconds before another demon jumped at them. He shouted, throwing his arms up to defend himself as the thing leapt, the sound causing Riku and Axel to each twist around. Sora had readied himself for some sort of painful blow, and when none came, he lowered his arms.

The creature was still a foot away from him and Roxas, confusion in all of their expressions. Sora tensed again as the thing swung its sword again, letting out a breath as the sword seemed to bounce off of the air. Suddenly his eyes widened, his hand dropping into his pocket where he had put the charm Axel had given him. It couldn't get to them because they had it. He grabbed Roxas's hand again, swallowing as he called to Riku and Axel. "Don't worry, it can't get to us, we're safe!"

"Good. Stand back!"

Sora jumped back as Axel twisted around and swung his chakram down, dispersing the demon into ash with one swing as Riku took out the last of the three that he was facing. Riku was panting harshly by this time, and Sora couldn't help but run over and reach over to support his arm. Riku tried to shake him off, but Sora held on, frowning as he felt his boyfriend shaking from exhaustion. "Sora…"

"No, Riku. I'm not going to have you collapse, not when the fire's so close. Let me help you."

Riku sighed then nodded in defeat and sunk against him, letting Sora support him as they hurried after Axel and Roxas. Sora could immediately feel a heaviness about him as soon as he had touched Riku, but did his best to keep all signs of weariness away from his face. He already knew that Riku was feeling guilty just from the bit of contact they were making but really, they had been able to interact for two years without knowing what was going on, so there should be no reason why they couldn't function just as well now.

Axel had gone back to cutting through the thick thorn bushes, moving faster as the green fire crawled after them, consuming everything in its path. He was leading them around the corner of the house to the side yard which butted up against the small bit of woods which marked the beginning of the park. The same park in fact that they had taken Sora when they had needed to release him from Xemnas's grip two years ago.

As he broke into the woods, the mass of thorns suddenly ended. Chest heaving from the effort of having to carve through so many branches, Axel took a moment to catch his breath, transferring both chakrams to one hand as he grabbed Roxas's shoulder with the other. Roxas glanced back at the thorns as Sora led Riku out. It really was like a frozen wave of branches completely surrounding the house, swallowing it up to the roofline. Roxas let Axel pull him farther into the trees, all of their senses spiked with adrenaline as they kept an eye out for Maleficent or any of her cronies. Despite his increased attention on his surroundings though, Roxas could tell that he was starting to get tired. He still hadn't gotten a proper rest from being trapped in the warehouse and it was starting to weigh on him. Roxas glanced back at Sora and Riku; it wasn't affecting him as much as Riku of course, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired too.

The forest itself had darkened with the coming of twilight, the shadows of the tress and their thick foliage almost fragmenting the area around them. Roxas really couldn't tell what could be a figure among the faceted light; everything was green, the green of the leaves so intense that it seemed to cast a glow in the whole area in the same manner as Maleficent's staff.

Suddenly, Roxas's eyes perked up as he heard the flapping of wings. His head snapped up to see Maleficent's bird flying down at them, just barely skimming over Axel's red spikes before rushing over Riku's right shoulder. Instinctively, Riku turned around to follow its path, his breath stopping in his throat when he saw that Maleficent was not even a foot behind him, staring down at him with that condescending scowl. Sora's gasp of horror brought Riku out of his shock and he swung his father's sword. Maleficent blocked the strike with her staff, the force of her blow sending the blade flying out of Riku's hand, just barely missing cutting Sora as it flew to the side, clattering to the forest floor with a dull clang.

Riku quickly grabbed for Sora to throw him back, away from the witch, and managed to shove him a good distance away but Maleficent was just as fast. Riku gasped as her hand latched around his wrist; her grip was so cold, freezing even to his standards. Grimacing, he struggled to pull away, shaking his head as he saw Sora take a step toward them, his voice rough and desperate. "No! Sora, stay back!"

"Such princely nobility." Maleficent spoke quietly but everyone could easily hear it as the forest had grown deadly silent. "Yet it seems you are still nothing more than a lifeless soul attached to a body, which makes it quite easy to pull away what little energy you have."

As soon as she said this, her staff started to glow a fierce acid green. Riku let out a hiss of protest then gasped as a ball of light was dragged from his chest, instantly crumpling to the ground as it left his body.

Roxas's eyes were wide as he watched Riku fall and Sora cry out, the fear in his brother's voice tearing at his heart. Maleficent vanished again, and a split second later Roxas and Axel were running toward Riku, Sora already kneeling next to his boyfriend. Roxas frowned worriedly as Sora lightly touched Riku's cheek. But his older brother thankfully gave a small breath of relief when he noticed Riku shift, the sign of movement enough for the moment. A frown twisted the former ghost's lips as he unconsciously leaned into Sora's touch, his drained body instinctively seeking Sora's warmth.

Riku was going to be okay. He was alive at least. Roxas let out his own sigh of relief and turned to tell Axel the good news only to see that Axel had stiffened, the older man's eyes trained unblinkingly at something to the side. Twisting around completely, Roxas felt his heart jump to his throat when he saw Maleficent a ways away, that infuriating smile on her lips.

Growling low, Axel spoke up, his voice tight. "Just what to plan on getting out of all this anyway?"

"I expect that I will end this night with four new souls to add to my collection. Indeed," Maleficent's grip tightened on her staff as she took a step forward, "Once I assimilated the four of you my power will be strong enough to best any number of 'supernatural warriors' coming against me. You should feel blessed that you will be with me to watch as I finally manage to gain immortality."

Axel glared at her, his hands tightening on his chakrams. "Yeah, I don't think so!" With lightening speed he threw the first chakram at the woman, the second one following not a second later. Maleficent actually looked momentarily shocked, raising her hands just in time to block the two weapons. The first one even managed to tear a small rip in her cloak before it suddenly flew off course, both chakrams lodging themselves inches inside a nearby tree trunk.

In the short time this took though, Axel had already reached in to his pocket and had pulled out his lighter and the fire spell, lighting it up as Maleficent's eyes narrowed in rage. "Fools! You dare threaten me?" As she waved her hand, the rage of fire that had burst from the spell sheet immediately went out, the only sign of it ever having existed being the char on the ground and the dying embers clinging to the tree bark.

Axel paled as Maleficent's staff began to glow, the white causing the tattoos on his face to stand out even more as he stood his ground in front of the other three. "Roxas," he whispered harshly, "You and Sora need to get out of here. Run toward the street and don't look back!"

Roxas shook his head, not believing that Axel was asking them to abandon him and Riku. "No!"

"Imbeciles!" Maleficent raised her head, her eyes narrowed with rage as she shook out her cloak, the small tear disappearing behind new folds of cloth. "You will learn what it is like to deal with me!"

Roxas watched as she raised her hand, recognizing the movement. He knew what was coming. Still he could hear himself scream as a green bolt of lightening shot out of the air, not at the fact that it was coming toward them but because Axel threw himself in between them and the bolt.

_"Axel!"_

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	17. Chapter 17: The Darkest Hour

Chapter 17

Okay, dudes. I know I promised I'd have this update up in a week, but its only been a week and a day, so that's almost keeping my promise ^^;. And considering all of the things on my plate this week, I'm just happy to have gotten it out now. Consider it a Halloween present! So thanks to my reviewers: BlueFox of the Moon, Suna's Assassin, Miah The Storm Wolf, A-chan, Aindel S. Druida, BokuraNoLoveStyle, CloakedxSchemer, CloudedMirror, -angel, NightmareFairy, Ivy J., Before-I-Fall, DemonicxTears, Silver Butterfly07, Ollimartic, Dust to Dusk, Tinker16, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Cassie-san, Scootkadoot, XfallenXshadowX, ramen-is-my-goddess, Takara Zizumea, Yours For all Eternity, LadyLunarPhoenix, MizzMoris. Thanks! I'm going to try to all of your reviews eventually! Hopefully within the next two days or so! I love you all, really!

Oh, and remember, 400 reviews, dudes! I know you can do it, you're almost there!

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Looking at the burning thorns separating them from the house, Zexion turned to Demyx. "We need that fire out before it burns down the entire house."

Demyx nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out a water spell sheet. "I'm gonna need a whole lot of water to make this work fast though."

They all glanced around the area before Namine grabbed Demyx's sleeve. "The fire hydrant!"

Demyx turned. Indeed, there was a fire hydrant not far from the house. Smiling grimly, he walked back to the car, rummaging around before pulling out a small box of tools. "Glad I decided to pack these!" He chirped, pulling a wrench out from the mess of tools before he hurried over to the hydrant. He eyed the socket then looked down at the wrench. "Well, it's not a perfect fit, but it'll do the job." With that, he clapped the wrench onto the nearest socket, throwing all of his weight against it. After a brief struggle, it gave a warning jerk before suddenly popping off, a massive flow of high-pressured water gushing from the open hydrant. Demyx shrieked as he was immediately soaked, but quickly pulled himself together and planted his feet firmly in the growing pool of water, dropping the spell sheet into the water as he closed his eyes and began to chant.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a blast of water suddenly burst from the ground, as fierce as the blast that was coming from the hydrant, almost geyser-like as it shot straight up, droplets of the water sprinkling down on all three of them. As Zexion quickly stuffed his book under his shirt to protect it against the dampness, Namine put her hand on Demyx's shoulder, helping him to focus in on the fire. Two more geysers burst from the ground, among the thorns this time. The fire hissed angrily as the water crashed against it, but was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of water and was smothered.

It took just over a minute to put the fire out completely, but when Demyx finally opened his eyes, sweat was already building up on his forehead. Zexion reached over to steady the shoulder Namine wasn't holding onto, giving it a light squeeze before nodding. "Good work. Let's head into the house."

Demyx nodded, rubbing his forehead to kill his slight headache before following after his boyfriend, his hand sliding down to latch protectively onto his sister's as they entered the forest of thorns. Both he and Namine shivered as they passed through the tangle of black, charred, branches that were dripping from the onslaught of water. The black magic was stifling, almost nauseating. Demyx could tell that even Zexion could feel it too by the way that his shoulders were tensed. They picked their way up the driveway, finding the trail a bit easier when they reached Axel's car as they found that a messy path had been carved in the direction of the front door.

Their walk up to the front door was undisturbed, though Demyx swore that he could hear things moving just beyond the charred parts of the tangles, metal scraping against thorns as those little monsters navigated their way through the branches. The fact that they had made it to the front porch without interference was slightly unnerving.

He was tense and ready for an attack then when a shattering gunshot cut through the relative quiet, followed quickly by four more, the shots staggered unevenly. Squeaking, Demyx pulled Namine closer and grabbed Zexion's arm, his face white as they froze momentarily, Zexion's hand an inch from the front door handle. His fingers curled back, hesitating to open the door to a possible warzone. Before he had to make that final decision as to whether open the door or not though, it flew open on its own accord, Zexion's quick reflexes the only thing that kept his knuckles from getting soundly rapped from the swinging door.

As Zexion pulled his hand to his chest, Leon stepped out of the house, his expression grim as he looked out at the thorns. When he noticed the three of them, the expression lightened somewhat, though his voice was still gruff. "When did you three get here?"

Demyx smiled weakly. "Only a few minutes ago, long enough to put out the fire in your front yard."

"Fire?" Cloud had followed Leon out onto the porch, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion as he caught sight of the charred and soaked thorns.

"Yeah. Your entire yard was burning down." Demyx's eyes widened as he looked down at their ripped clothing. "What happened to you?"

"Thorns got our bedroom. Managed to get out only to be attacked by a small army of those monsters. Luckily, I had my police-issue gun and my own revolver in the side-table drawer." Leon motioned down to the gun clutched tightly in his own hands then over to the one Cloud was holding with less confidence.

"And that worked against those things?"

"Once we packed them full of rock salt. Where are Sora, Roxas and the others?"

Demyx tilted his head to the side. "Weren't they inside with you? When Axel called he said that they were going to try to get back into the house."

Leon shook his head, his expression falling back to its original grimness. "No, they never made it back to the house. We heard them leave but we never heard them come back inside."

"But if they weren't in the front yard and they aren't in the house then where-" Namine cut Demyx off with a sudden gasp and her grip tightened on Demyx's hand.

Her face was white as she looked up at the others with wide eyes. "They must be at the side of the house! I just felt a large swell of black magic come from that area! We have to hurry, she could be killing them!"

At this thought, everyone broke into a run, Namine leading the way as they tore back through the tunnel of thorns. Luckily, there was another tunnel carved out on the other side of Axel's car that they hadn't noticed previously and they sped down it. A sudden cry though caused all of their hearts to skip a beat. "Axel!"

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For Roxas, time had seemed to slow when the green lightening struck Axel. All he could do was stare at the red head's back, not even able to see the other's expression as he was hit since Axel had been blocking him, Sora, and Riku with his body. In that moment, Roxas stopped breathing, his heart stopped beating; it was just pure horror, a fear he had only ever experienced when something bad would nearly happened to Sora.

Suddenly he felt himself take a breath and then time was rushing back to its normal pace, even going too fast as he lifted his arms just in time to catch Axel's body as it fell back onto him. Toppling back himself at the other's dead weight, Roxas scrambled to see the other's face, freezing when he finally turned Axel over enough to do so. There was a black burn on Axel's shoulder where he had been struck. The fabric had been instantly charred and the visible skin underneath didn't look much better. Axel's eyes were closed; he had lost consciousness, and his head lolled uselessly against Roxas's chest, pale and drawn.

Roxas had noticed all of this in only a second, but when Maleficent started to laugh, it seemed as though hours had passed. Roxas could only hold Axel tight as she took a step closer to them, knowing that none of them would be able to defend themselves against another attack. Axel was unconscious, Riku was completely drained, and there was no way in hell that he or Sora could put up any sort of fight against her. Smirking, Maleficent tilted her head almost mockingly to the side. "Such a pity that he sacrificed himself; he may not survive the hour in the state he's in now."

Roxas shook his head, clenching Axel's shirt in his hands. "S-Shut up! That's not true!"

"Insolent boy." Maleficent's smirk fell into a scowl and she raised her staff. "You will pay for your foolishness-!" She was suddenly cut off by the sound of a gunshot, her eyes going wide before she disappeared in a rush of green flames.

Roxas held his breath, not understanding what was happening until it finally clicked in his head that someone was running into the clearing. Leon was leading the way, his gun raised, the barrel still smoking slightly. As soon as he saw Cloud though, Roxas cried out. "Cloud! Axel's hurt!"

Cloud wasted no time running over to them, the others following suit behind him. Immediately, Cloud gently but urgently brushed Roxas back, lying Axel out onto the ground. "What happened to him?" He asked.

Roxas clenched his hands into fists, tears threatening to fall down his face as Sora grabbed his arm for comfort. "She, she hit him with a lightening bolt thing. I don't know what it was, but it his shoulder."

Resting his hand on the red head's chest, Cloud's face darkened. "Shit. He's gone into ventricular fibrillation, his heartbeat's too erratic. If his heart doesn't start beating normally again, it'll cause cardiac arrest. Damn it. I really need a defibrillator." Cloud bit his lip then clenched a hand into a fist, hesitating for a second before he slammed it down in the middle of Axel's chest. Axel's body jerked, half a second passing before he suddenly started coughing, his green eyes flashing open. Breathing a sigh of relief, Cloud swallowed then motioned to Roxas and the others. "Help him sit up, it'll help him breathe easier." He leaned back, running a hand through his blond spikes, muttering to himself. "I can't believe that actually worked."

Having heard the last bit, Roxas scowled worriedly as he tried to collect Axel's long torso back into his arms so that he could support him, murmuring his thanks to Demyx as the other blond stooped down to help. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that that only had a one in four chance of that technique actually working. If my timing had been off by a second, he still would have died."

"Well, aren't I a lucky guy then?" Axel gasped out, rough and weak. Feeling as much as hearing Roxas gasp with surprise, Axel chuckled then grimaced, grabbing his burnt shoulder. "Feels like Reno stabbed me with his stupid stun gun set on high. And no telling Reno about this either. Shit, he'd kill me for that kind of stunt. Remind me never to do something like that again." From his other side, Demyx gave a little laugh, relief laced in all of their voices.

"Hopefully there won't be a second time. At least not for a while. Another electric shock like that could very well kill you. You're lucky it just burnt you a bit, hopefully it's just surface damage." Looking exhausted but still determined, Cloud glanced over at Sora and Riku, noticing that Riku was lying out on the ground. "What happened to Riku?"

Sora smiled weakly, clutching Riku's hand. "He's not in danger of dying," Turning to Riku, the smile fell, "As long as you let me help you." He lowered his voice so that only Riku could hear. "You can't protect me if you can't even sit up. Right now, me being a little tired is better than you not even being able to move."

Riku took a shaky breath, looking up at Sora for a moment before he nodded and opened up his arms. Sora's face broke into a grin of relief and he leaned down to return the embrace, resting his chin on Riku's shoulder, holding him tight as he felt a familiar chill rush over his body; a sure sign that Riku was beginning to funnel his energy out. Riku swallowed, raising a hand to run through Sora's brown spikes. "This cannot continue forever," he whispered. "I cannot continue to run on such low supplies of energy, even if I am willing to have you help me."

"Then we'll think of a way to recharge you again." Sora buried his nose against Riku's shoulder, murmuring into his skin. "To get you to the way you were before you and Roxas were kidnapped, before she drained you the first time." Riku nodded then placed a weak kiss on Sora's temple, looking over the younger's head as Namine spoke up.

"Demyx, now that we know that everyone's all right, we should start setting up an entrapment spell before she comes back!"

Demyx nodded, standing up after he made sure that Axel could help support himself. Meanwhile, Leon's brows drew together with confusion, the older man speaking his thoughts after a second. "She disappeared after I shot her. She's coming back?"

Demyx frowned, "Yeah, probably. You may have been using rock salt, which was good, and you did manage to distract her from hurting Roxas and the others, but basically it was kind of like throwing a small rock at an angry bear. If that makes any sense." He saw Leon's face fall and Demyx smiled a little. "But it did get her to go away for enough time for us to draw out an entrapment spell, and hopefully with that will hold her long enough for us to do some actual damage."

That said, Demyx followed Namine to a relatively flat area a few feet away, accepting a piece of chalk from Namine that she had pulled from a pocket. It was hard to draw on the forest floor, but luckily the ground they had chosen was hard-packed. They were halfway through drawing the symbol when the sound of a cracking twig caught everyone's attention from the side of the clearing nearest the house. Stiffening, Leon raised his gun again as he stepped in front of Cloud and their kids. "Come out with your hands up!"

There was another rustle and a second later, Auron appeared from behind a tree, his hands raised as had been demanded though he was smirking with amusement. "Careful with that gun, officer. You wouldn't want to accidentally kill a human."

Leon snorted but lowered his gun, his finger still playing on the trigger as he relaxed. "Could rock salt kill a man?"

"Doubtful. But you'd still embed it into my chest, which is rather uncomfortable." Auron walked further into the clearing. He was dressed in his normal red trench coat, though this time there was a large sword strapped to his back. Glancing over at Axel then to the others, Auron's good eye finally settled on Zexion, his tone business-like. "How much time do we have until she gets back?"

"I don't know." Zexion looked over to Demyx and Namine. "She's already been gone a few minutes after attacking those four."

Maleficent was giving them much too much time to recover after her last attack, and Zexion at least knew it. It either meant that she had actually been wounded from Leon's shot, which was doubtful considering her strength, or else she was gathering her energy for an even larger strike. The latter of the two was more probable, but also more depressing. Auron frowned, thinking along the same lines as Zexion as he scanned the trees around them before he directed his gaze at Sora. "You there, boy, what's that sword doing lying on the ground useless?"

Sora sat up, shivering a little as he pulled away from Riku. He looked down at the sword Riku had dropped after his attack from Maleficent then bit his lip. "But it didn't do any good. I mean, I know its iron, but she just knocked it to the side."

"Then make it stronger. Axel's got a vial of holy water about to fall out of his pocket, put the thing to use and douse the sword in it. That will make it stronger against dark forces."

Sora blinked then looked over to Axel who chuckled sheepishly. "I'd get it for you if I could find the energy to move, but I don't think I have it in me. Mind lending a hand, Roxy?" Roxas blushed but reached down, thankful that the vial was indeed almost falling out of Axel's pocket, he really didn't want it to seem like he was feeling Axel up in front of his parents. In a quick second though, he snatched it up and tossed it to Sora. Catching it clumsily, Sora uncapped it, looking bemusedly down at the sword for a second before shrugging and just pouring the water onto it.

Riku winced as he watched the water slide down the polished metal, "I will need to remember to clean it for sure now. It will surely rust over otherwise."

Smiling sheepishly, Sora placed the grip of the sword into Riku's hand, his smile brightening a little as he saw that his boyfriend had enough energy to wrap his fingers around it, his grip strong. Even though he was indeed feeling more tired, Riku could move around now, so it was worth it. "Sorry, Riku." Riku shook his head, looking as he was about to reply when suddenly his eyes widened, staring at something in the middle of the clearing over Sora's shoulder. Sora tilted his head to the side, about to turn to see what it was himself when he noticed that Riku's pale skin had turned green. No, it was reflecting the color behind him.

Twisting around, Sora gasped when he saw a glowing green ball hovering in the air in the middle of the clearing. It was mesmerizing, but Auron's low voice snapped Sora out of his daze. "This is it. Everyone, on your guard!"

A sudden crack of thunder cut through the woods and a second later, Maleficent's voice echoed from the air itself, coming from every direction. "Incredible. Still you think that you have a chance. Very well. If you want to fight, then you shall have to deal with me and all the powers of Hell!"

The green ball of light gave a flash of warning before it suddenly blew outward in a rushing wave of light. Roxas cried out as it slammed into him and Axel, literally feeling them fly back a few feet and crash against Riku and Sora, his ears filled with the sounds of everyone else's shouts of surprise, everyone who was standing blown instantly backwards onto the ground. Rubbing his eyes to clear the blinding flash from his eyes, Roxas saw that Leon had been thrown against a tree, the older man's face a grimace as he shifted his back, Cloud sprawled on the ground a foot from him. The rest of the group was faring no better, though it looked like Demyx had managed to grab on to Namine and cushion her fall.

As he was scanning the clearing to make sure everyone was still there, Roxas's eyes locked onto a shadow on the ground below the spot where the ball of light had just been floating. It looked like a burn, like the one on Axel's shoulder, until Roxas realized that it was growing. He let out a sharp gasp as it suddenly flared up, fire licking up into a column as a blackened shadow crawled up into the air inside its ring, flaring up to the top of the trees. It was forming into a shape, the forms twisting out of the central mass. It wasn't until two bright yellow eyes snapped open that Roxas was able to place it. It was a giant, shadowy dragon, flame in its mouth as it suddenly snapped its jaws almost for practice.

"Zexion!" Auron's voice still carried over from the other side of the clearing. "Quickly, say your rites!"

Zexion nodded, pale but holding his chin up as he flipped open his book. "You may be a hellish and solid illusion," he said. "But even you cannot defend yourself against prayer and white magic. Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac, et virtúte tua age-"

Meanwhile, Auron had drawn his blade and he jerked his head to Leon and Cloud. "You two, snap out of your shock and help. She's not just going to sit and take the holy rite!"

Leon scowled but drew his gun again, heaving himself up off of the ground as Maleficent let out a roar, Zexion's prayer already showing its effectiveness. Giving one glance back to make sure that Cloud was also on his feet again, Leon then turned back to the dragon in front of them, firing off all six rounds in his gun. Beside him, Cloud started firing his gun as well, every one of their shots striking the dragon's face and neck.

Maleficent roared again, throwing her head back before taking a step toward them and drawing back her right arm. Leon shouted as she struck out at them, her claws black and shining as they missed cutting him open by an inch only because of Cloud's quick reaction as he had just barely snatched his husband back from death. Panting, Leon quickly popped his ammunition cartridge open, loading up more rounds of rock salt. With a quick snap, he had the gun reloaded and raised it up into position just as Maleficent took another swipe at them, her body twisting oddly this time. Once again, they managed to dodge the claws.

"Leon, Cloud, behind you!"

Leon only had the time to shoot off one round before he felt something burning collide with his back, instantly sending him into a world of darkness.

Roxas had cried out along with Sora, but could only watch as their parents were struck down. Leon and Cloud had managed to dodge the dragon's claws, but hadn't been able to escape the snap of her tail as it had come out of nowhere from behind them. It had caught both men full in the back, causing both of them to immediately crumple under the blow. Roxas watched as Maleficent then turned her fiery gaze on Zexion, who was still reciting his prayer with as much strength as he could despite his obvious growing exhaustion. The dragon snapped her jaws once, fire growing in her mouth as Roxas felt himself grow cold with horror. She was going to burn Zexion alive! He struggled to stand up but was stopped by a surprisingly tight grip on his chest, looking down to see Axel grabbing onto him, keeping him from running over. Roxas bit his lip then turned to Zexion, shouting as loud as he could. "Zexion! Her fire!"

Zexion blinked, breaking the rhythm of his prayer for a second as his eyes snapped up from his text to the dragon in front of him as Maleficent reared her head back. Clenching his teeth, Zexion threw his arms up to protect himself as a burst of flame flew out from her mouth, readying himself for the worst; he didn't have the energy to run. He could feel the hellfire's heat on his face but instead of being instantly burned alive, he heard instead a sharp yelp ahead of him. His eyes snapped open to see Demyx shielding him from the fire, steam filling the entire clearing as a blast of water coming from the spell sheet in the palm of his hand fended off the flames.

Zexion sucked in a shaky breath then pulled himself together and finished the last few lines of his prayer, his voice nearly raw. "-et inimícos meos confúsos vidit óculos meus. Glória Patri!" As soon as he had finished, the flames immediately stopped, Maleficent's head snapping back as if she had just felt a sudden strike of pain, the shadowy form actually writhing in itself, trying to keep its shape. Zexion dropped to the ground as his knees gave out from under him, his hands trembling as every bone in his body berated him for having said the prayer without being a sanctified exorcist.

Seeing that Zexion's prayer had effectively weakened and distracted Maleficent, Auron called to Namine and Demyx. "We need to get her onto your seal! Her power over her form is failing!"

Namine and Demyx nodded, running forward after Auron as he raised his sword for attack. Making it to the dragon first, Auron deftly sunk his blade down into Maleficent's lower back, as high up as he could reach.

Maleficent's twisting form howled as smoke spewed from around the sword. Auron grimaced, holding onto his sword even as it began to glow red hot from the hellfire heat she was emitting, a grimace twisting across his face as the dragon slowly began to shrink in size. As soon as she realized she was losing control of her dragon form, Maleficent's energy seemed to flare back in one more attempt to regain control over the situation and she roared again, but it sounded more like a mix of a shriek and an animal's roar this time. Nonetheless she managed to raise her warping claw and strike down at Auron.

Deciding to dodge the blow and save his life rather than cling on, Auron ripped his sword out of her shadowy form and tried to jump away. He had waited half a second to long though, and one of her claws managed to clip his side, its force, despite only the slight contact, sending him flying. Auron let out a shout as he flew through the air, only a grunt escaping him as he slammed against a tree trunk and fell quiet.

"Auron!" Demyx took a step toward him before his gaze flashed back to Maleficent. She was continuing to get smaller, her form still twisting and writhing as it sunk back down until she was back to her original human form, still covered in a haze of shadow. She shook that off as if it was simply another fold of her cloak, her eyes narrowed in an evil glare as she raised both of her arms.

"How dare you defy me?! How dare you think you have a chance!"

Namine clenched her hands together, her face white as she still turned to Demyx. "We have to get her over the seal!"

Demyx nodded, swallowing as he grabbed her hand then reached for another water spell. Whipping it out, he squeezed Namine's hand. "Hold onto me, okay? I'm going to need your strength."

Nodding, Namine clutched onto his hand and shoulder as Demyx closed his eyes, whispering a spell under his breath as water suddenly burst from the piece of paper. Maleficent shrieked as the blast hit her, sending her back a few steps, back toward the seal until she was only two more steps from it. But then Maleficent seemed to gather her bearings and raised her staff. It glowed its acid greed color, the light expanding out, pushing the water away.

Slowly but surely, the water lost distance as the light grew, and sweat started to roll down Demyx's forehead as Maleficent let out a cackle. "Do you really think that two light witches could defeat me, even after all you have thrown at me? Me, Maleficent?" Clutching her staff tighter, she suddenly thrust it forward and the light expanded dramatically and Demyx and Namine were thrown back, Demyx's water spell completely collapsing around them.

Roxas tightened his grip on Axel as he felt the young man stiffen as they watched the two siblings fall to the ground. He had no idea what they were going to do now; everyone that had come to help had fallen; Leon, Cloud, Demyx, Namine, Auron. Zexion was conscious but just barely as he struggled to stand up again, stumbling over to where Demyx and Namine had hit the ground. Looking wide-eyed over to where Maleficent was pulling her strength together after having been beaten out of her dragon form. "What are we going to do, Axel?"

Axel grimaced, clutching onto his wounded shoulder. "We need to get her onto that seal. If nothing else, it will keep her trapped until the others wake up." He swallowed. "I'm going to try to push her onto it. If something happens though, you guys need to run and I'll try to hold her for as long as I can."

Roxas wrapped his fingers around Axel's shirt, his voice cracking. "Axel, no."

Axel shook his head then rolled up, hissing in pain as he found that even slight movement sent a jolt of pain down his spine.

"This is ridiculous." The voice came from behind the two and Roxas's head snapped back as he felt someone rise behind then and heard Sora's small gasp of surprise. Roxas's eyes widened when he saw Riku stand up, his sword in hand as the silver-haired man's shoulder's squared as he held his chin high. "This is my house," he continued, taking steps forward, his steps slightly shaky but still holding a certain grace. "My property. You have attacked my family. My friends. You've attacked me. I won't stand for it."

With that, he quickened his steps, suddenly running toward Maleficent, drawing his sword back to strike. Staff and sword clashed together as Riku pressed against her. Eyes narrowed, Maleficent let out a muffled scream of rage, light flashing out and momentarily blinding Riku.

He shouted as she gained the advantage and knocked his sword out of his hands, feeling it flying out of his grip. His eyes flashed, coming back into focus just in time to see the staff flying toward him. His hands flew up and he caught it in his palms. But as soon as he touched it, it felt as if an electrical shock struck his body.

He couldn't move. Energy was coursing into him from the staff, ripping through his body. He was feeling Maleficent's entire energy store, the energy made of all of those souls locked in the staff, and his body couldn't handle it. He wasn't like Maleficent. "It's overwhelming at first, isn't it?" Maleficent's voice seeped past his thoughts. "They are the secret to my strength. They could have been yours. I could have taught you how to steal their power and use it as your own, but you had to reject my offer." Riku shut his eyes tight, his body stiffening as he felt the souls that made up her power twisting underneath his fingertips, shooting through his body. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence, his breath hitching. It was Xemnas.

Riku felt himself mentally recoil until he realized that Xemnas was no longer himself. He was no longer the same evil presence Riku had had to suffer with for all of those years. All that was left now was the raw energy of his spirit. Maleficent had said something about using that energy for his own use. Steeling himself, Riku grabbed onto Xemnas's energy, mentally drawing out of the staff and into himself. He could feel that energy warm his body, giving him new strength. He supposed it was a rather ironic end to Xemnas's afterlife; his energy would end up keeping Riku alive and Sora safe.

But he still couldn't move, and despite now having a new source of energy, he still was no where closer to pushing Maleficent into the seal. Suddenly Riku felt warm hands on his back, his body stiffening as he recognized the touch. "Don't worry, Riku." Sora's soft voice hit his ears, sounding so sweet compared to Maleficent's evil hiss. "We can do this."

And suddenly Sora was adding pressure to his stance; giving him the strength he needed those few more steps forward and get Maleficent into the seal. Together, they pressed her back into the chalk circle. The task was still near impossible though as Maleficent pressed back with her magic, battling over every centimeter.

Roxas watched as Riku and Sora slowly pressed Maleficent back into the circle, his eyes widening when as soon as Maleficent's foot hit the circle, the chalk lines began to hiss and crackle. He felt Axel shift in his arms, the red-head cursing quietly. "Shit. The seals not going to be enough."

"Why?" Roxas looked down at Axel. "Demyx and Namine and even Auron said it would be able to trap her!"

"It will. But not long enough for the other's to pull themselves together enough to help. She's already burning through it." Axel bit his lip, "I need to do something."

Roxas scowled. "You can't even move." He looked back up at Sora and Riku then clenched his hands into fists.

Axel paused, looking up at Roxas. "Don't you dare, Roxas. I know what you're thinking and don't you dare. Don't put yourself into that sort of trouble."

Roxas ignored him and slowly stood up, leaving Axel on the ground. He was nervous, yes, but his brother and Riku were already attacking her, and they needed help. Seeing Riku's father's sword lying on the ground, Roxas slowly moved in to grab it, keeping his blue eyes on Maleficent the entire time. She wasn't looking at him though, her attention solely on Riku and Sora. He could even hear her talking lowly to them. "You and your group are pathetic little fools. As soon as I am through with you, you will regret having ever trying to interfere."

He grabbed the sword, the grip cold to the touch from having been held by Riku. It was heavy too, but he snuck around Maleficent, hesitating for a second before grabbing the sword in both hands and striking down at her back. The sword was an inch from her back when heat suddenly rushed up it and the sword stopped in its tracks as Maleficent suddenly raised her voice. "And you, boy, have been the most irritating of all! Did you really think that I would not notice you?"

Roxas's hands were shaking, the sudden burning running up the metal of the sword starting to scald his hands. He wasn't strong enough to push it in all the way, and his hands were starting to kill him. They were going to actually burn if he held on for any longer. He gasped as arms suddenly wrapped around him, long-fingered hands reaching down to bat his away and grab onto the sword instead. "Alright, Roxy. Let's get this done."

Roxas grabbed onto Axel's hands, both of them pushing forward. "Don't look, Roxy." Axel murmured. Roxas complied, closing his eyes tight as he felt the sword break past the barrier Maleficent had thrown up, sinking in surprisingly fast after that. Maleficent shrieked as the sword stabbed down into her, the sound echoing through the clearing. By itself, the sword wasn't much, but it had been doused in the holy water, and that was the last blow to Maleficent's already fracturing strength. There was a pause before a light exploded from her body, and Roxas was thankful that Axel had told her to close his eyes because he could see the light even behind his eyelids.

The force from the light threw them all back and to the ground. When they all sat up and had gotten their sight back, Riku's sword was lodged into the ground over a large black stain.

Maleficent was dead.

Letting out a shaky breath, Roxas leaned his head back, exhaustion rushing over him as he slumped against Axel's chest.

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	18. Chapter 18: The New Day

Chapter 18

Dudes! Qué triste, we have reached the end of "Song of the Condemned"! It was a fun run though. I'm just glad that I managed to get this chapter out as soon as I did, what with NaNoWriMo also filling up my plate. ^^ So I hope that you like this chapter, I filled it with lots of fluff and fun, because I couldn't help myself.

Thanks a bunch to all of my reviewers, especially those who followed this story over from "Haunted," but all the rest of you as well. You dudes are awesome reviewers of awesomeness, and I love you all. Your reviews kept me writing, so pat yourselves on the backs. You guys rock! So thanks to: Dust to Dusk, Miah The Storm Wolf, Toko Trance, Aindel S. Druida, BokuraNoLoveStyle, ramen-is-my-goddess, CloakedxSchemer, Suna's Assassin, thewriterwannabe, ooXloveXoo582, Tinker16, BlueFox of the Moon, Cassie-san, Yours For all Eternity, CheenaSantiSprinkles, Before-I-Fall, StrifesLove, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Ivy J., fei8000000, Axeiru, PirataNoctis, Mare Dragon, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Scootkadoot, XfallenXshadowX, Keira-93, yumie-darkness123.

Don't worry though, I'm not disappearing off the face of fanfiction, just taking a short break. But before I take said break, I do believe that I promised a prize should you get to 400 reviews. And you did. So, the information about all that is at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

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After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Roxas lifted his head off of Axel's chest, rubbing his forehead as he took a good look at everyone around them. Maleficent might be dead, but everyone else was too close to it as well for his liking. Biting his lip, Roxas rolled up into a sitting position. Axel grunted below him, his eyes still closed. "Roxy, what're you doing?"

"I need to make sure nobody needs an ambulance or something."

"Alright. I'm just going to lie here for a few seconds. Collect my thoughts and whatever."

Roxas nodded then carefully tottered up onto his feet, walking a wide circle around the sword stabbing into the dark stain on the ground where Maleficent had once stood to Riku and Sora. Both of their eyes were closed, and Roxas quickly bent over Sora. He touched Sora's shoulder gently, a sigh of relief breaking passed his lips when Sora stirred, his near-identical blue eyes fluttering open.

"…Roxas? What happened…?"

"She died. I think. And we were all thrown back. Are you okay, can you sit up?"

"I think I'm okay. A little sore, I think my back hit the ground first." Sora winced as he sat up but otherwise seemed fine. As he did so though, his fingers brushed along Riku's pale arm and Sora gasped. He immediately turned to his boyfriend and ran his fingers down Riku's face, his eyes widening.

Roxas frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Riku. He's not as cold anymore." Sora's voice trailed off as Riku's eyes slowly opened. Their aquamarine color was brighter than they usually were, nearly glowing as he blinked. Sora gasped as Riku suddenly sat up and reached out to press a hand to the other young man's chest. "Riku, careful. Are you feeling okay? You were in front of me so if something happened, it would have happened worse to you."

Riku blinked again then smiled soothingly and pulled Sora's head to rest against his shoulder. "I feel perfectly fine." He caught sight of Sora's face and his smile widened a little. "Truly. I feel better than I have for weeks. All of this energy…" He clenched his hand, as if testing how much strength he had in his grip, then turned and nuzzled his nose into Sora's spikes. "I feel nearly as strong as I did when I was alive the first time." Riku turned to Roxas. "How are the others?"

"I don't know. You were the first two that I checked on."

"I will help you." Riku kissed Sora lightly on the cheek. "You should rest here, Sora. You must be exhausted after everything that happened, especially after I took some of your energy." Sora nodded and Riku stood up, brushing off his pants. "Roxas, if you want to check on your parents, I will look to the others."

Roxas nodded, quickly moving over to Leon and Cloud's prone bodies. They were sprawled over each other, Cloud laying over Leon's legs, both of them still unconscious. With a quiet hiss, Roxas leaned down over them, hesitant to touch them as he remembered how hard Maleficent's dragon's tail had swung into them. If their backs or necks were hurt, he didn't want to aggravate any injuries. But he really needed to know how badly they were hurt. Roxas stooped down and gently touched Cloud's shoulder, "Cloud? Leon? Can you hear me? Can you move?"

His hand retracted as Cloud shuddered, the man shifting slightly as he slowly propped himself up onto his elbows. Roxas waited a few moments as Cloud was quiet, the older blond probably going through a mental checklist of any injuries that he had. After a few tense breaths, Cloud exhaled slowly. "I'm alright for the most part. Nothing too big, just bruises. Probably a massive bruise on my back." Grunting, he crawled up Leon's body, putting two fingers to Leon's neck. After two seconds, he sighed. "Thank God, there's a heartbeat. Leon. Squall, wake up." Leon's eyebrows drew together. "That's it. Come on, Squall, open your eyes."

"…It's Leon…"

Cloud and Roxas smiled at the groggy response, Cloud propping himself up a little higher. "Alright, Leon. Can you move everything? Any possible symptoms?"

Leon leaned his head back, clenching his teeth. "Ugh. My head, my head's killing me. Cloud…?"

"I'm here, Leon. Just relax. I think you might have a concussion." Cloud frowned, reaching back around to lightly feel the back of Leon's head. He felt a small bump and even the slight touch caused Leon to hiss lightly. Cloud swallowed then turned to Roxas. "We should probably get both Leon and Axel to the hospital. They both should be fine, but a check-up with real equipment won't hurt."

As Roxas nodded, Riku walked over to them, his expression only slightly worried. "Namine, Demyx, and Zexion are all awake. Though I think they could use a good a good rest, they shouldn't need any medical attention. Auron's awake too, but his hands were pretty burnt from when he had stabbed the dragon, and he may have fractured a rib or two."

"Alright." Roxas tilted his head to the side as he looked at Cloud. "If you're up to it, maybe you can drive Axel's car since it's so big. I'll drive Sora's car."

"Sounds good. Get me Axel's keys."

After Roxas had managed to get Axel to give up his keys, they were able to pack everyone into the two cars. Even though Roxas was pretty sure he was perfectly fine save for a little exhaustion, he still felt strange being the one to drive when everyone else in the car was older than him. And had had their license for more than just a few months.

They had managed to get Sora, Riku, and Zexion into his car. The others; Leon, Axel, Auron, Demyx, and Namine were all with Cloud, so that he could keep an eye on them through the rearview mirror. Demyx and Namine hadn't been hurt at least, but they were still a little groggier than anyone Roxas had in his car. The trip to the hospital was quiet. No one seemed to feel much like talking and Roxas didn't want to turn on the radio in case someone had a migraine, like he suspected Zexion had. Sora, the only one who would be normally talkative, dozed nearly the entire way in the passenger seat, his head leaning against the window.

When they reached the hospital, Roxas followed Cloud's lead into the parking area that was usually reserved for doctors' vehicles only. They parked side by side and as Cloud slipped out of the van, he nodded to Roxas. "I'm going to go in and find some nurses to bring out some gurneys for Auron, Axel, and Leon, just in case."

The passenger door swung open and Leon tottered out, shaking his head. "I don't need a damn gurney, Cloud. I told you, I feel fine."

"Leon Strife, you're going to sit back down and then you're going ride the damn gurney into the damn hospital. I'm not taking any more chances with that concussion until you get checked out." Leon hissed a little but dropped back down into the passenger seat, crossing his arms moodily. From the other side of the car, Cloud snorted. "Thank you. Roxas, Riku, can you wait here with everyone until I come out with some help?"

Roxas nodded, assuming that Riku must have done the same behind him as Cloud headed off to the hospital entrance. Glancing back to his car to make sure that Riku could handle everything, Roxas then crept over to the van. He opened the side door as quietly as he could, gasping as a little as half-way through it suddenly seemed to take a life of its own and opened on its own. He scowled when he realized it had only been Axel from the other side, the red-head's chuckle causing him to flush lightly. "We're not going to break, Roxas. At least not me. Can't say the same for Dem though."

"Shut it, Axel." From the backseat, Demyx let out a little whimper, his arm draped over his face. "This feels way too much like a hangover to be any fun. And not a nice hangover either. More like a I-almost-got-burned-alive hangover."

"Do you have those often?" Roxas asked.

"Seeing as Axel and I usually got drunk together in high school, more times than I like to remember."

"Hey. No telling bad stories until after Roxy and me go on our first date."

"Wait, what?" Demyx lifted his arm, wincing as the sunlight hit his sensitive eyes. "Since when did Roxas agree to date you?"

Flushing at the question, Roxas sent a glare in Axel's direction, who only smirked it off, before he crossed his arms. "Since Axel promised to give up smoking for a week. And only if it's for a whole week."

Demyx grinned and let his arm fall back over his face. "Oh. Good luck with that."

"Have some faith in me, Dem. Besides," Axel's head rolled to the side, the smirk falling from his lips a little when he saw Cloud coming out of the hospital main entrance with a few nurses and gurneys. "I'm probably going to be in the hospital for a few of those days, right? That's like free days of forced intervention."

Once Cloud managed to get everyone into the hospital, he finally seemed to relax. After a quick examination, Sora, Namine, Demyx, Zexion, and Roxas had all been declared fit to leave immediately after a small dose of some aspirin. Axel had been put on a heart monitor so that the doctors could keep track of his heart rate to make sure that everything had actually settled out. If there were no complications, he was only to stay overnight while they also tended the burn on his shoulder. Leon was checked out after a few hours of tests and scans. The concussion had only been a moderate one so they loaded him up with some painkillers and declared him healthy enough. Auron mostly would need rest, but his hands had been burned, and like Axel's shoulder, would need treatment. His damaged ribs were quickly bandaged but besides that it looked like he had come out of the battle reasonably unscathed.

A few hours had passed since everyone had first been admitted. Roxas had driven Sora and Riku back to the house, but then had decided that he was going to go back to the hospital, just to make sure that Axel was really going to be okay. Walking down the sterile halls, he finally stopped at the door with Axel's name on it and peeked in, surprised to see that Axel was alone in the room. When Axel saw who it was who had opened the door, he visibly perked up. "Roxy, hey. What brings you to here?"

"Where're everyone else?"

Axel rolled his eyes dramatically. "Apparently they were too 'tired' to watch over their good buddy, Axel. Something about someone having a headache when all I did was ask for some entertainment. Go figure. So they left me here, all by my lonely self, with nothing better to do than stare at the wall."

"There is a TV you know." Roxas motioned up to the dark screen in the corner of the room.

"Already tried it. Nothing but soap operas this time of day. And my life does not need any added drama." He looked like he was about to say something more when there was a quiet knock on the mostly-closed door.

Turning around, Roxas curiously opened it, his face brightening when he saw that Aerith was on the other side. "Aerith!" He opened the door wide, letting her into the room. Sora had been right, she really hadn't changed at all during the few years since they had been adopted by Leon and Cloud. She was still as pretty as ever in that same pink dress, her hands clasped happily to her chest. The only difference was that Roxas was nearly as tall as her, which was certainly a different viewpoint for him.

"Roxas! When I stopped by your father's office, Cloud told me that you might be visiting a certain young man named Axel, and I'm so happy that he was right."

Roxas smiled, the real contentment in the expression saved usually for only his closest friends and family. "I'm glad that you managed to find me too. What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you the good news. When I ran into Sora the last time, I had told him that Denzel was ill. But he suddenly got better today. I rushed right over from the orphanage when I heard the news and it seems as if Denzel is as healthy as ever now! Even after being in a coma for so long; the doctors said it was amazing that he showed no signs of any lasting effects."

"That's great!" Roxas grinned, hooking his thumbs into his pockets. "So is he going to be discharged today?"

"Yes! And even better, during the last few hours since he has been awake, it seems as if one of the nurses here has really taken a liking to him. If all goes well, there may be an adoption in his future!" She looked down at the delicate watch wrapped around her wrist then gasped. "Oh, in fact, the doctors should have finished compiling his paperwork by now. I should go before he starts to get worried."

"Yeah, of course. Thanks for telling me, Aerith. I'm sure Sora will be really happy to hear that everything's going to work out with Denzel. And it was nice to be able to see you again." He accepted a motherly kiss on the cheek before Aerith whisked back down the hall, the loss of the pink in her dress sending the scenery back to its usual sterile whiteness. Until Roxas turned back around to see Axel's wild red hair and green eyes again, the smile on his face making Roxas tense though he had no reason to.

"So, she seems like a nice lady. I'm glad we were able to help her out."

Roxas relaxed a little. "Yeah, me too. She's basically the only mother me or Sora have ever known so I'm happy that everything turned out good for her. She deserves it."

Grinning, Axel patted the side of the bed. "But come over here, I promise I won't bite. Unless you like that kind of stuff of course, but that's a whole other step to the relationship that I'm not sure we're ready for yet."

Roxas shook his head but closed the hospital door then moved over to Axel's side, perching lightly on the edge of his mattress. He rested his hands in his lap, tapping his fingers together as he glanced almost shyly at Axel. Besides the wires sticking to his arms and chest that were monitoring his heart, Axel looked perfectly healthy, his green eyes glinting as sharp as ever. Wetting his lips, Roxas looked back down at his lap. "Look, Axel…I just, before anything actually does happen, I need to know. What kind of relationship are you actually looking for? I don't want to be just another count to your dating list-"

He was cut off as Axel put a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him. Axel chuckled weakly, trying to look calm and collected although the slight acceleration gave away his slight nervousness. "Roxas…" Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath as Axel sat up a little. "I don't know, what to tell you. I've got to be honest, I don't know exactly what kind of relationship would work with you." Roxas's heart dropped a little; Axel didn't know? He supposed he understood. He was only sixteen after all. They wouldn't really be able to -do- anything for two years, not really, not while he was underage. Axel didn't really seem the type who would be willing to wait that long. "But-" Wait, there was a but?

Roxas opened his eyes as Axel continued. "But I know I want you in my life, no matter what. So I'll take whatever you want to give me; we'll play this by your rules, okay?" Axel wasn't thinking about himself, he was thinking that Roxas didn't want to escalate their status to something more intimate.

Smiling, Roxas leaned down, surprising Axel with a soft kiss to his forehead. It was the first time Roxas had initiated anything himself. "I guess I'll have to decide what I want after our date at the end of the week. That is, if you can actually stop smoking for that long."

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"Only for you, Roxy, only for you. The thought of this moment was the only thing that kept me going through many, many depressing hours of withdrawal. I'll have you know I had to order Reno to hide my wallet, just to make sure that I didn't have any money to run to the corner store and buy a pack. The idiot hid it his car then subsequently misplaced it for the next few days, but everything worked out in the end." He had been leading Roxas by the hand down one of the busier streets in Radiant Garden, his long legs unintentionally creating such a fast pace as they walked that Roxas felt as if he was being half-dragged along behind the lankier man. Not that he minded much. He was still kind of caught up in the feel of the other's hand around his own.

So far, things had been going well on their night out. Roxas couldn't actually call it a "date" anymore because when Leon heard about their plans, he threatened to arrest Axel then in there, and had actually gotten the handcuffs out before Cloud could pull him aside and talk him out of arresting Axel for pedophilia. So now it was officially a night out with a close friend. A very close friend.

"What do you think about this place? Does it look good to you?"

Roxas blinked out of his thoughts and nearly ran into the red-head since Axel had stopped walking, his eyes directed to a menu that was posted on the outside of the restaurant they were standing in front of. Roxas tilted his head to the side, his eyes scanning the menu quickly. "I don't know, Axel. It's kind of expensive. Leon and Cloud never take us to places like this unless we get straight A's on our report cards or something big like that."

"Roxy, this -is- a big thing. You're finally not totally creeped out by me. Besides, with all the money I've saved on not buying cigarettes, I can almost already afford paying for both of our meals." Axel chuckled, reaching down to ruffle Roxas's hair. "And with both of us dressed up for the night, we should commemorate the event by going somewhere upscale."

Roxas quickly reached up to try and get his hair back into place. He had worked hard on it this afternoon, damn it, and it was going to stay looking nice. He did have to admit though; both of them were rather dressed up. Actually, Roxas had felt like a girl on her first date that afternoon when he had gone through everything in his closet looking for an appropriate outfit. Turns out most of his punk clothes weren't really all that dressy. Riku and Sora had finally taken pity on him once they had come home from their classes though, which was how he now found himself in slightly more preppy, but probably more suitable, outfit. His blue dress shirt layered on white and fitted jeans contrasted greatly to Axel's outfit, despite the similarity of the basic items. With a black dress shirt and black jeans, the thing that really made Axel's outfit was the slightly loosened tie and the fact that he had unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt. He really did look like some sort of fashion model, and although that was very nice to look at, it did make Roxas feel a bit…underdeveloped.

"They have a sea-salt ice cream sundae."

Roxas's head snapped up, all thoughts in inadequacy gone instantly from his mind. "Really?"

Axel grinned down at him. "Would I lie to you about something like that? Yeah, 'really'. Come on, let's go inside." Readjusting his grip on Roxas's hand, Axel led him into the restaurant. Lucky for them, they had a few tables open, so they were seated immediately. Once at the table, Axel laced his fingers together lazily, though his gaze was cautious as it flickered up to Roxas's face. "So…what do you think so far?"

"Of this?" Axel nodded. Roxas swallowed, pink tinting his cheeks as he looked down at the tablecloth. "It's nice. Strange, but nice." Looking up, he explained himself after seeing Axel's confused expression. "I mean, it's strange because we don't usually see each other just to see each other. Like right now, I'm half-expecting that you chose this restaurant because it's haunted or something."

Axel laughed, the noise startling a few of the couples and families around them. "Wow Roxas, you must be psychic. Kidding, only kidding." He added quickly after Roxas's face had paled a shade. "But I might have done a bit of research. For instance did you know that this is the only upscale restaurant in Radiant Garden that serves sea salt ice cream? Plus, we're only a block away from the biggest theater in town, which I hear is playing a whole series of gruesome horror movies to choose from. You see, I actually remembered what you said."

Roxas smiled shyly. "Thanks, Axel."

"For what?"

"Everything. For helping out our family and for looking after Sora and me and for…for giving this a chance. I don't think I've ever really thanked you for all of it. It was really nice of you. And I'm almost glad that we nearly got killed dozens of times during the past two years since it meant that I got to meet you."

Roxas started as Axel's hand found his on top of the table, his larger one warm as it covered Roxas's. "Don't sell yourself short kid. I'm probably the luckier one here." Axel swallowed then grinned. "After all, I was able to get to know a pretty kick-ass kid. You've been through more shit then anyone your age should have gone through."

"It wasn't all that bad. Except for the whole being-possessed-by-a-little-girl thing." Roxas quieted for a moment before looking up at Axel. "What, what do you think ever happed to Rose? Did sh-Maleficent kill her?" Demyx and Namine had agreed that since Maleficent had been killed and not simply banished back into the spirit world that it was probably okay to say her name now. But that didn't stop Roxas from shuddering just a little every time the name passed through his lips as if she was going to jump out from behind him whenever he did.

Axel frowned at the question, his hand leaving Roxas's as he leaned back and crossed his arms thoughtfully. "I think that Rose might have made it out okay. Namine did say that when Maleficent was killed, she was just aware enough to feel all of the energy that burst out of her. Apparently those were all of the souls that she had recently stolen. From both Namine and what Riku said, she must have stored up the energy of their souls in her staff until she needed to use them, so there's a pretty good chance that a lot of spirits managed to escape only slightly traumatized. Plus, that Denzel kid fully recovered, and his energy had been stolen before Rose's. The best we can hope for her is that she managed to move on. Either that or she's gone back to her merry little asylum with any other of her insane friends that managed to escape."

"I hope so. I'd feel kind of bad if she didn't, even if she was a little brat for using my body." Roxas's gaze flickered hopefully up to Axel's, "Maybe we could go back to the asylum someday, with Namine, just to check if she's there or not."

"That sounds like a pretty good idea." Axel paused then grinned. "You should really think about joining our ghost hunting team."

"Really? You want me to join?"

"Sure, why not. You're a natural. And let's face it; you've pretty much gotten enough experience to be set for life. Usually all of the cases we get are little things, poltergeists at the most. Besides, Namine is getting tired of being set out as bait for the ghosts all the time. If we got another adorable blond on the team we could split her bait-time in half. And if you don't want to join that team, Dem and I are also part of a band. We could totally set you up as a singer if you want because, let's face it, your voice is probably ten times better than mine and infinitely better than Demyx's. That boy couldn't hold a tune to save his sitar."

Roxas laughed, glowing on the inside at having been complimented by the older man. Suddenly he shook his head, smile still on his face. "Wait, you use Namine as bait?"

"We've never told you those stories before? They're frickin' hilarious. There was this one time, we were called back out to Halloween Town. And of course we thought it would be easy because Namine and Dem come from there, right? Wrong. This house we were called to, it was messed up. Not as bad as yours when we first got there, but it was pretty bad. And there was this one ghost that wouldn't come out unless you were a girl, so we had poor Namine sit in the family room alone while we watched outside from the laptop live feed…"

Roxas titled his head to the side, just listening to Axel talk. He could definitely get used to this.

After dinner and dessert, and possibly disturbing other restaurant patrons with Axel's wild stories of paranormal investigating, they just managed to catch their movie of choice, their preference based on which catch line was the most outrageous. The movie itself was so bad it was hilarious; it was about a haunting but their idea of ghosts was so off that it sent Axel into a series of snickers every time they mentioned its name.

For his part, half of Roxas's attention was stuck on watching Axel. His ability to follow the already weak plotline was further hindered when an hour into the movie, Axel dragged him over to sit on his lap, his smaller frame just short enough so that the red-head could comfortably lean his chin on the top of Roxas's head. Forget watching the movie, at that point Roxas just had to concentrate on breathing. He knew his heart was pounding so hard that Axel would have needed to be oblivious not to feel it against his own chest, and his face flushed deeper when Axel only pulled him closer.

By the time the movie was over, Roxas was sweating just as much as he would have had the movie actually terrified him. If Axel sensed his growing tension, he skillfully ignored it, slowly relaxing Roxas with his jokes about the movie's lame plot and worse acting. Roxas was laughing right along with the older man when they reached Axel's van, and the drive back to the Strife house was free of any awkward, romantic tension. It wasn't until Axel parked the car in the Strife's driveway that an uneasy silence settled between them.

Focusing on his lap as Axel killed the engine, Roxas fiddled nervously with the cuffs of his shirt. "So, tonight was fun…"

"Yeah?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah." He smiled a little. "You know, if you keep up with this whole no-smoking thing, maybe we could go on another one someday. It's nice to be around you when your clothes don't completely reek of cigarette smoke."

"Roxas…" The proximity of Axel's voice caused the blond's head to snap up, his body freezing when he saw that Axel's face so close to his own that all they would need to do to touch was for one of them to lean in only slightly. Roxas swallowed but let his eyes slip closed, raising his head just a bit to touch their lips together. Axel let out a quiet noise, and Roxas could feel his smirk against his own lips as they softly made contact. There was a rustle of fabric before Roxas felt Axel unbuckle both of their seatbelts to get to a better angle, a moment passing before a hand gently reached up to touch his face, warm fingers brushing against his cheek as they deepened their kiss. For his part, Roxas reached up to run his fingers through Axel's styled spikes, his mind taking a holiday as it was filled with a warm fog.

Breaking the kiss to gulp in a breath of fresh air, Roxas leaned his forehead against Axel's. "Um, Axel?"

Axel looked down at him, his green eyes almost glowing. "Hm?"

Roxas struggled to unscramble his fogged-up thoughts, a little distracted as Axel's hand continued to caress his cheek. "Will, will you wait two years? I know that it's a long time. But I think that I might, really, really like you."

Axel smirked. "Roxas I'd wait ten years if it meant being able to date you. Two years is just too easy, especially if I still get some of your unbelievable kisses."

Flushing, Roxas nonetheless closed his eyes as Axel leaned in for another kiss, leaning back against the passenger door as their lips touched again. He could feel his mind start to go fuzzy again when suddenly the world dropped out behind him, literally, as the passenger door flew open. With a sharp gasp, Roxas shut his eyes as he fell back, surprised though when a strong pair of arms saved him from falling onto the concrete. His eyes flashed open. It wasn't Axel. Axel was staring up at whoever had caught Roxas with an expression of sheepish fear. Craning his head back, Roxas paled when he saw that he was in fact in Leon's arms.

"Ah, hi, Dad! Um, this, this totally wasn't what it looked like…?"

Leon snorted then pulled him the rest of the way out of the car. "Say goodbye to Axel, he's leaving now."

"Ah! Oh," Roxas turned to Axel with a sheepish smile. "Bye Axel."

Axel smirked back, apparently over his fear of Leon as he winked. "Bye, Roxy. I'll call you, okay?"

"Alrigh-" Axel didn't hear the rest because Leon slammed the passenger door shut, his grip on Roxas's shoulder tight as he forcibly led the teen around the front of the car, patting on the hood of the van once as a sign for Axel to get going. Inside the car, Axel waved cheekily but then got going. Roxas was forced inside the house before the red-head could even pull out of the parking lot, his fear of an angry lecture soothed somewhat when he saw Cloud sitting in the parlor.

"Hey, Roxas. We were watching TV when we saw the van pull up." Ah, so Leon must have gone to investigate when Roxas hadn't come directly into the house. "Leon, come sit back down while Roxas gets to bed. Roxas, try to be quiet, Sora and Riku are already asleep."

Roxas blinked, looking down at the digital clock underneath the TV. It was past midnight. Wow. He hadn't realized that they had been out that long. After Leon had let go of his shoulder, Roxas bolted upstairs; undoubtedly there would be a lecture in the morning, but he could at least escape it for a few hours. When he got to the top of the landing, he paused, listening to the muffled conversation that had started between his parents as soon as he had left the room. Alright. So Leon didn't sound completely pissed off. Just mildly annoyed. And probably slightly traumatized after probably watching his son make out with a twenty-four year old.

Roxas's fingers lightly touched his lips at the memory and he tried to smother a goofy grin that would have made Sora proud. Shaking his head, he made his way down the hall to his bedroom, trying to tiptoe by Sora and Riku's room. Their door was cracked slightly open, and a quick glance revealed that Sora was indeed asleep, though a flash of aquamarine showed that Riku wasn't. He had probably woken when the front door had first opened, knowing how sensitive he was to the house. The silver haired man nodded to Roxas sleepily when their gazes met before he settled back down next to Sora, his arm wrapping protectively around the other's waist before he drifted back to sleep.

With a small smile, Roxas shook his head then continued on to his room, immediately flopping down on the bed when he reached it. Now that he hit the mattress, he realized that he was exhausted, the burning happiness he had felt while on his date with Axel subsiding to warm contentment. He could definitely get used to this.

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Fin! *sigh* Parting (even temporarily) is such sweet sorrow. Hope you liked the ending! Like I said, I had too much fun with all the fluff. But here is what you're really probably wondering about. For reaching 400 reviews amici meum, I am gifting you a Bonus Chapter! (perhaps even multiple ones if I find more than one idea irresistible)

So here is how things are gonna work:

-It's got to concern this story. Obviously.

-It has to be rated T for teen, cause I'm not bumping this sucker up to M.

-It's going to be a oneshot. Keep that in mind

But the subject will be up to you. If there's anything you wanted expanded upon or any idea that just sounds super-fun, speak up. It can concern the past (such as maybe how Cloud and Leon met, what Axel was doing before "Haunted"), the present (a day at the beach, celebrating a holiday together, just hanging out), or even the future if you can think of anything.

It's time for you dudes to get your real say in things. So tell me what you want to read. I'll be open to any idea! :D


	19. Bonus Chapter 1: Leon and Cloud

Alrighty-then. So, I've listened as best I could to your requests and tried indescribably hard to fit them all into as few one-shots as possible. Which was fairly difficult. But know that there are a few of them coming, and each one is going to be a surprise, so keep a watchful eye out. I'll just tell you this, to put them into some sort of order, I decided to order these one-shots in a basic chronological pattern, earliest to latest (though don't hold me to that ^^;).

But I hope you enjoy all of them anyway, because this is my gift to all you reviewers! ;)

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Bonus Chapter 1: Leon and Cloud

Squall Leonheart looked up at the large gray concrete building he was standing in front of then back down at his class schedule. His stormy eyes flashed once to the name engraved into the side of the building before he let out a low sigh. So he was at the right place. Which was a relief. What wasn't a relief was the thought that he would have to spend two and a half hours every week in such a depressing building.

Squall was a psychology major. He didn't even know why Radiant Garden University required psychology majors to take Chemistry. It didn't make any logical sense really. Not unless they were chemically picking apart how the brain worked or something. But he had decided when he had picked classes over the summer that he was going to take care of all of his most annoying requirements first thing. So here he was a first year student, on the first day of school, staring up at the building that he hoped held the class he really didn't want to go to. A glance down at his watch told him that he was in fact twenty minutes early. Damn. But it was either that or risk getting completely lost and needing to sprint across campus, which wasn't his idea of a good first day.

Running his hand through his medium-length brown hair, he walked up the stairs into the building, ignoring any and all looks he got from other students as he passed them. He wasn't a social person but that didn't mean that he had to be intimidated by any upper classmen.

Finding the actual room was harder than he had imagined it would be. The building was like a maze! By the time he actually found the stupid room, he had already wasted eight minutes. Irritated, he threw open the door, freezing when he saw that the room was empty save for one blond kid who was sitting at a desk in the front row. The kid was staring at him, as if shocked by the force he had opened the door with. Great. He had gotten there even before the teacher's assistant who was going to teach the stupid class. Now it was just him and the geek who already had all his notes ready to go.

With a quiet huff, Squall quickly moved to the back corner of the classroom and dropped into one of the seats before he ripped open his backpack, searching moodily for something to take notes with. From the front of the classroom, the blond looked down at his watch then turned back to him. "You…do know there's still twelve minutes until class starts, right?"

"What of it? I can't come early like you?"

The other boy raised an eyebrow before he stood up. "I guess no one's stopping you. I'm just not really prepared to talk to students yet though, so you'll have to give me a few minutes to get ready."

Squall's head shot up, his eyes narrowing. The boy did look familiar; he might have even been introduced in the morning's lecture. Damn. He hadn't been paying attention. "You're the TA?"

"You sound surprised. But yeah, I'm Cloud Strife, the teacher's assistant for this discussion session." The boy, young man, crossed his arms. "I guess I should really be standing at the front table. It'd probably help to clear up any confusion even though the professor did introduce us all today."

Squall watched as Cloud Strife moved all of his things to the front of the room. By the way the blond was shuffling nervously through his papers though, Squall doubted if he could actually give a good lecture. Sure his clothes made him look a little geeky as he stood up there in his turtleneck sweater and loose jeans, but his blond hair and perfect porcelain face brought to mind the airhead type who only got where they were because of their pretty face.

Sensing Squall's gaze on him, Cloud's eyes flickered over to him, his brow quirking up again. "So I'm guessing that you're a first year, right? What's your name? I can check you off early on the attendance sheet."

"Squall Leonheart. And how did you know I was a freshman?"

Cloud's eyes were back on his papers, a smirk briefly crossing his lips as he flipped through them. "Your clothes pretty much gave you away. Not really college fashion."

Squall looked down at himself. He was just wearing his leather pants and his favorite jacket, the one with the fur ruff on the collar. He didn't see anything wrong with what he was wearing. Besides, Cloud didn't really have the right to talk about good fashion. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing. It's just different. Where'd you go to high school?"

"Inner city. Balamb Gardens. It's only a few blocks away." Seriously, was this guy trying to suggest that he was from some far-off place where they had different ideas of school attire? He had bought his clothes at the mall. Sure not everyone was walking around with leather pants, but he liked his goddamn leather. They might not be entirely school appropriate, but it wasn't like he had anywhere else to wear them.

The answer seemed to surprise Cloud as he looked back up from his papers. "Really? Isn't that a private military school?"

"What of it?"

"Nothing. I've just never met anyone who's come from there before. And you're not really a person I would have expected to come from there." Cloud was cut off from further one-on-one conversation as the door to the room opened again, letting in a small stream of four students. Cloud's blue eyes flashed to the clock and Squall snorted as the he inhaled in a breath apparently for courage as more students filed in. As soon as the class was full, Cloud smiled and clapped his hands down onto the table. "Okay, class. You might remember me from this morning, but for those who don't my name is Cloud Strife, you can just call me Cloud, and for two and a half hours each week, it's officially my job to help you out with understanding Chemistry. We'll use our time to work through problems which you'll probably be tested on, and really try to hammer in key concepts. Now are there any questions before I start things off?"

A girl sitting in the front row shyly raised her hand and Cloud motioned for her to talk. "Um, how old are you?" From the back of the room, Squall could only roll his eyes.

Cloud took the question in stride though and smiled. "Twenty-tree. I'm first-year graduate student here at RGU, so I hope you'll all go easy on me."

"Are you single?"

Squall resisted the urge to slam his head onto his desk as up in the front of the room Cloud sputtered out a quick "no" before quickly changing the subject. Apparently both of them had a good idea of where the topic of conversation was headed.

The class itself went faster than Squall had expected. This Cloud guy was actually a pretty good teacher, he made more sense than the professor anyway, and theories were just beginning to click in Squall's head when Cloud looked up at the clock then called out. "Okay, guys. Class is over." His voice rose to try to fight against the noise of backpacks zipping and chairs moving. "I'll see everyone same time next week. And come to my office hours if you need any help."

Putting his things back into his backpack, Squall followed the other students out of the room with a quick glance back at Cloud. The young man was draped over the front table, apparently relieved that the class had finally ended. Squall chuckled to himself then shook his head and walked out of the room.

It was his last class of the day so he biked back to his dorm building after that. Cursing the fact that there was no elevator on his end of the building and that his room was on the forth floor, he nonetheless jogged up the stairs, thankful that he was at least in some sort of good shape.

He reached his floor with only slightly pink cheeks and took a second to catch his breath before he walked down the hallway to his room. The one thing he hated about living in the dorms was that there was no privacy. Their rooms were connected right to the hall and the bathrooms were all the way at the ends, which made showering a little awkward for the few days he had been living here.

He walked to his room, number 408, and pushed the door open, thankful that his roommate wasn't there as he tossed his backpack onto his bed and dropped down into his desk chair. It's not that Seifer was a bad guy, it was just that they tended to easily get on each other's nerves, and Squall was not in the mood for an argument. He wasn't even sure why they had signed up to be roommates in the first place. They had gone to high school together at Balamb Gardens, and Squall knew for a fact that they didn't always get along. But at the time it had seemed like a good idea; they were they only people they knew who were going to RGU and wanted some sort of feeling of familiarity, so now they were stuck together for the year.

Pulling out his binders from class, Squall started to go through what reading needed to be done for homework. He would have thought that the amount of reading psychology classes handed out was hilarious, if he hadn't been the one who had to do all the reading. Already dreading what was to come, he grabbed his textbook from its shelf and flipped it open on his desk. It would be a miracle if he managed to stay awake.

But the time he managed to finish the assigned chapter, it was definitely time for dinner. Closing the book with a definitive slam, Squall stood up and grabbed his ID card before heading back out into the hall. He didn't bother locking the door; he didn't have anything worth stealing.

Four floors and too many stairs later, Squall walked into the dining commons, the only place where freshmen could get decent meals since their dorms didn't include kitchens. While he wasn't looking forward to eating cafeteria food three times a day for an entire school year, Squall knew it was much cheaper than eating out, and probably healthier.

He flashed his ID card before he could grab a tray and quickly maneuver to the lines which were doling out the best food, walking quickly to get a full meal on his plate before everything got cold. When his tray was loaded up he then turned to find a good table to sit at. One where he could just eat alone and get out as quickly as possib – hold on a minute.

There, sitting at a table in the back of the room was one very familiar spiky blond head. Squall blinked once to confirm that yes, his TA was in fact sitting there before he frowned and marched over.

Cloud jumped as Squall slammed his tray down, his electric blue eyes wide as they flew up from his book and landed on the teen in front of him. Eyes narrowed, Squall asked curtly. "What are you doing here? This place is for students. Freshmen students."

Cloud relaxed a little, sending Squall a small smile as he shrugged and looked back down to his book. "Technically I am a freshmen student."

"A graduate student. Don't you have an apartment? Where you can, you know, cook?"

"I can't cook." Cloud glanced back up from his reading. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you actually going to sit and eat?"

With a huff, Squall dropped down in the seat across from Cloud and picked up his fork and knife. They ate in silence for a while, Squall content with just eating as Cloud read his book. Halfway through the meal though, Cloud set his book down, fixing Squall with a curious expression. "Would you say that I did a good job today?"

Caught off-guard by the question, Squall swallowed his latest bite of food then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. You cleared up a bit of confusion that I had about some things."

"Good. I was pretty nervous. It was my first time ever teaching a class and after class ended I realized I couldn't even remember what I had said."

Squall snorted then continued eating as Cloud picked up his book again. He was just glad that Cloud hadn't wanted to start a full-fledged conversation. That would have been awkward. The silence though, it was nice. He wasn't having to introduce himself or give the usual speech of talking about his major and what he wanted to do with his life.

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After that, the tradition of sitting together at dinner at least two times every week slowly developed. It was mainly a convenience for both of them as they both seemed content with only minimal conversation; at first they other only acted as a sort of place holder to keep away anyone who would have been noisier. But after a while, they started talking to each other and twelve weeks into school Squall actually found himself looking forward to their conversations.

He had an amusing relationship with Cloud. Because over the twelve weeks they had developed a sort of friendship over their dinners together, Squall found that he was more comfortable around him in class. Meaning that he took great pains to annoy Cloud as much as he could during their two and a half hours together. It wasn't rare for the two of them to get into a half-hour debate about the smallest detail of a definition. He even took their bickering into Cloud's office hours. No one came anyway, so he was free to spend the entire time complaining about how the test questions were too hard or how Cloud didn't explain some such theory good enough. It became a constant goal to see Cloud's face flush with exasperation, victory only coming when the blond threw his arms up and admitted defeat.

Dinner time was different though. They would actually hold civil conversations or just peacefully eat together. Squall glanced down at the clock on his desk. 6:29. He still had half an hour before going down to meet up with Cloud in the dining commons. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen against the desk. He really didn't want to be working on his psychology paper. In fact, he was starting to think that he had picked the wrong major. While understanding how people thought was interesting enough, the amount of reading was overwhelming, and the number of papers required stretched his skill of putting together logical arguments on paper to its limits.

What was bothering him more at the moment, and he hated to admit it, was that he was pretty sure that he was beginning to fall in love with Cloud. The idea of being in love with another boy had scared him at first, but he knew that he would have to accept it. He wasn't sure how his dad would react, but he knew that Cloud was undeniably good looking. He was also smart, witty, understanding…and did he mention that Cloud was really good looking? He had never even known that there was a hint of muscle on Cloud's lean frame until the blond had shown up to teach class one day in a rather tight t-shirt. Sure it had been a warm day, but the shirt had left little to the imagination. He also knew that Cloud somewhat felt the same, if the glances he received from the blond meant anything.

His head turned as he heard the door to his dorm room open then close, a frown finding its way onto his face when he saw Seifer stumble into the room, clearly drunk. "A little early for getting totally smashed, wouldn't you say, Almasy?"

"Shut it, Leonheart." Seifer frowned, leaning against their wall for support. His voice was slurring slightly, his eyes slightly glassy as he pointed at Squall. "Just because you don't know how to have fun, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be such prudes all the time."

"Did you just call me a 'prude'? You must really be drunk then."

"You know what, Leonheart? I'm tired of your shit. Someday I'm going to have to teach you some respect. Why not today?"

Squall was about to retort when Siefer's fist connected with his jaw, throwing him out of his chair. Scrambling to his feet after the initial shock wore off, Squall shouted. "What the hell was that about? Hey!" He blocked as Seifer swung at him again, returning the blow with one of his own, both hands tightening into fists as Seifer pulled back up from the hit. Both of them were angry now. Tension had been building between the two of them for weeks now, the irritation of having to room together coming out in full force as Seifer struck out at him again.

Again Leon caught the fist, but the force sent them tumbling over each other, hands flailing as each looked for something to grab onto to catch their fall. As they fell, Squall's leg caught on the edge of Seifer's desk and he cried out as he felt it twist painfully, undoubtedly something coming dislocated as Seifer's weight dropped on top of him. Squall grimaced as he saw Seifer's hand grab onto something form his desk but only had a glint of metal as a warning before Seifer's hand swung down. Pain erupted across his face and Squall fell back with a hoarse shout, the splatter of blood that had come from his own skin striking both of them. As he reached up with one hand to clutch at his wounded face the other reached blindly for the weapon in Seifer's hand. Somehow he managed to grab it and wrenched it away from Seifer's grip then struck at Seifer's face, desperate to get the other teen away.

Seifer howled with pain as he was cut and he stumbled back and onto his feet. Squall could only watch as Seifer ran out of the room and slammed the door closed behind him before he pulled his hand away from his face to see that it was covered in blood from his fingers to his palm. Grimacing, he pulled himself into a sitting position, turning to the mirror they had set up in their room. His face was covered in blood, the cut between his eyes deeper and longer than what he had seen on Seifer's face. It nearly cut his face in half and Squall could only gag at the sight of his ruined face, nausea welling up inside him. The pain in his leg was nothing compared to what was coming from his face but it still screamed at him as he tried to stand up. He knew he was losing too much blood, his mind losing focus as he reached for the door. The last thing he thought of was the fact that he was going to be late to dinner before he lost consciousness, his body slumping to the ground.

Meanwhile, Cloud was looking down at his watch, his eyes snapping up to the front door of the dining commons only to be disappointed yet again when some other nameless student walked through. Squall was late. Squall was never late for dinner. If anything, Cloud was always the one who came a few minutes after seven to find that Squall was already smugly waiting for him at their usual table. Drumming his fingers on the table, Cloud waited for a few seconds then looked down at his watch again. 7:15. In twelve weeks, Squall had never been so late to their dinner nights. And usually if he wasn't going to show he'd mention it beforehand.

Letting out a sigh to mask his concern, he stood up. It was eating away at him, a part of him nagging that something was decidedly wrong even if Squall really wasn't that late yet. He didn't want to seem like a stalker or anything, but if Squall wasn't going to come down to him, then he would just have to go up to see what was taking the annoying brat so long. Squall had once let his room number slip in a conversation; he was saying something about how it was too hard to climb up the stairs to his dorm and it just slipped out, much to his chagrin. Cloud had filed it away in his not-so-important things to remember because honestly, who cared what exact room he was in, but now he was glad that he was actually been able to recall it.

After another few minutes of internal debate whether he should actually care so much, Cloud finally walked out of the dining commons and headed for Leon's dorm block. It was easier than it should have been to get in. The doors were locked from the outside without proper identification but all Cloud had to do was wait for someone to come out before slipping inside before the door could close. On the way through the building, no one even gave him a second glance. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or insulted. On one hand it was good that no one questioned him on what a grad student was doing in the freshman dorms. On the other hand, they might all just think he was actually a freshman when he was actually twenty-three.

Whatever the reason, Cloud was able to sneak up to the fourth story without anyone stopping him. After having caught his breath from the stairs, alright Squall hadn't been lying about there being too many stairs, Cloud straightened up and walked down the hallway, carefully looking for the room numbers while trying not to seem too conspicuous. Most of the dorm doors were open, students milling about and talking to each other, laughter or even music coming out of some of the rooms. How anyone ever was able to concentrate was a mystery to Cloud. When he reached room 408, he bit his lip then knocked tentatively on the door. "Squall? Are you in there?"

There was no answer. Cloud fidgeted a little before his hand went down to the handle. It was unlocked. He frowned then knocked again, not wanting to cross the line into invasion of privacy. This time though, in answer to his knock, he swore he heard a slight groan coming from the other side of the door. Curious, Cloud shifted then called out. "Squall? It's me, Cloud. I hope you don't mind but I'm coming in – Shit!"

He had opened the door only to see Squall lying on the ground, a long gash fresh and bleeding stretching from his forehead down across his nose and a large bruise on his chin, blood spattering the carpet around him. Throwing the door open, he dropped down to his knees next to the unconscious teen, trying to remember what he had learned from his first aid classes although he could already feel panic consuming all logic. Was Squall even breathing? Reaching down, Cloud was relieved to feel a slow breath on the back of his hand.

Okay, he was breathing, now what? An ambulance, he needed an ambulance. Almost throwing himself out into the hallway, he called out hoarsely, "I need someone to call an ambulance!" The general chatter and noise in the hallway stopped, heads turning to him as people ran over to see what was going on. Over the shouts of shock and horror, Cloud heard someone announce that they had called an ambulance from their dorm-room phone. Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Cloud crawled back over to Squall. "Squall, Squall wake up!"

Squall's eyebrows furrowed and he let out a moan of pain, his stormy eyes glazed over as his eyelids fluttered open.

Smiling shakily with relief, Cloud reached up to ghost his hand over Squall's cheek, not wanting to touch it for fear that it would aggravate the cut across his face. "Squall…"

"Mn…C-Cloud?"

"I'm here. What happened to you?"

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, finally looking his age for once as he murmured in a small voice. "Seifer."

Cloud's eyes widened before narrowing with rage. Seifer Almasy was Squall's roommate. Cloud had had gotten to know Seifer from Chemistry lab sessions. That young man had a temper. A big one, and he and Squall did not get along, but Cloud never thought that it would escalate so much. "Seifer did this to you?"

Squall's eyes opened again at Cloud's snarl, the corners of his mouth curling up into a sort of pained smirk. "I managed to get him back a little…" The smirk fell with a hiss as a grimace struck his face, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Shit." Biting his lip, Cloud reached down to grab Squall's hand. "Don't worry, you're going to be okay. An ambulance is coming to take you to the hospital. I can come with you if you want." Squall nodded. "Okay." Cloud lifted Squall's hand, pressing his lips to the back. "Just hold on till then for me."

Within a few minutes the ambulance came and the paramedics scooped Squall off of the ground and put him onto a stretcher. Cloud jogged along next to him the whole time and wasn't even questioned as he climbed into the back of the ambulance. During the ride, he reached out again to grab Squall's hand and the teen took it without a second's hesitation, his grip growing tighter as one of the paramedics began to treat the wound with antiseptic. Once they reached the hospital though, Squall was whisked away into the back, leaving Cloud in the waiting room to nervously look through some magazines.

He lost track of how much time had passed or how many people were passing through the emergency room doors as he waited for news of Squall's condition. He had been staring at the same magazine page for probably ten minutes before he noticed a man walking toward him. He looked similar enough to Squall to alert Cloud to the fact that this was probably a relative that the hospital had called. The man stopped in front of him, his hands in his pockets in a sort of casual sorrow. "I hear you're the man who found Squall."

Cloud nodded and quickly stood up. "Yes. My name is Cloud Strife. How is he?"

"He'll pull through alive but the doctors said that they can't do anything about the scarring."

"Can I see him?"

Looking at him carefully, the man paused then shook his head. "I'm sorry. He's awake but he's not himself and I'd rather not have anyone bothering him at the moment. According to the doctor's he's working through post-traumatic stress, which was only aggravated when he managed to catch sight of himself in the in-room bathroom mirror. You wouldn't want to see him anyway, the cut on his face is still pretty raw and now it's been stitched up. It's not a nice sight."

Swallowing, Cloud took a step forward. "Please, let me talk to him. I think he could really use a friend right now and besides, I saw the cut already-"

"I'm sorry. I've made my decision. He's been through enough today. Thank you very much though, for bringing him in."

Cloud opened his mouth to argue then shut it when he saw the man's definitive expression. He wasn't going to get to see Squall. Lifting his chin, Cloud nodded curtly. "Alright. I understand," he didn't really but saying that he did made him feel like a better man. "I'll respect your wishes but tell him at least that I'm glad he's going to make a full recovery."

"Of course."

Cloud didn't see Squall for another two weeks, until he suddenly showed up in his class again. He had filed in with the rest of the students, Cloud's expression brightening until he caught sight of the other's face. The scar itself was much better than Cloud had last seen it. The stitches had done their work well, they were gone but left only a thin, red cut in their wake. That hadn't been what had stopped Cloud's happiness short. No, it was Squall's eyes. They were dull and expressionless, his mouth set in a thin line as he slipped to the back of the class, taking his seat among the whispers and stares of the rest of the students. Most of them had heard about what had happened between him and Seifer.

Still, despite the other's changed expression, Cloud ignored the other students and smiled warmly in Squall's direction. "It's nice to see you back in class, Squall."

"Leon."

Cloud tilted his head to the side. "Hm?"

"My name. Call me Leon." Squall, no, Leon, didn't look up at him once, his gaze firmly fixed to his desk.

Cloud frowned but kept himself from saying anything more. Obviously something had changed in "Leon's" personality, but this wasn't the time to question him. That could wait for after class, after the room had emptied of its gossip-hungry crowd who were even now twittering amongst themselves. Clearing his throat, Cloud diverted the people's attention away from Leon and onto himself. "Very well, Leon, it's good to have you back. And for the rest of you, I hope you've been studying your formulas because they're going to be the main focus on the final exam in just a few weeks…"

That lecture seemed to stretch on forever. Leon's gaze had not lifted once from the desk, making himself appear busy with notes as he kept himself from talking to anyone, Cloud or any of his questioning peers. When class finally ended, he hopped up with the rest of the students and would have made a clean get away if Cloud hadn't physically grabbed his arm on his way out, holding him back, their nearly equal heights giving Cloud only an inch advantage on the teen. Leon immediately hissed and ripped his arm away from the other's touch. "Get off of me."

Cloud frowned as Leon turned his head away, the other's now longer bangs falling in front of his face and hiding it from view. "What's wrong with you? I've been worrying about you for two weeks and you just ignore me when you finally show up to class? Look at me while I'm talking to you, Squall."

"I told you, its Leon now. And I'll look wherever I want. Get off before I report you to the school authorities for harassment. I have to go to class."

"You don't have any classes now. And you we both know you're not going to report me." Cloud's voice softened as his blond eyebrows drew together. "I was worried about you. Why didn't you call me? When you didn't show up for class on the first week you were gone I really started to think that some complication or something had happened."

The rigid tenseness in Leon's body slackened only a little as his voice lost some of its edge. "I didn't have your number…And I didn't want to come to class with my stitches." He swallowed. "I look bad enough as it is now, but those stitches made me want to throw up whenever I saw myself in the mirror. I don't even know how you can stand to look at me."

"Hey," Cloud reached up, his hand gently resting on Leon's cheek. "Don't say that. The scar's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Leon turned to him now, stormy eyes showing cold rage. "It's practically cutting my face in half! You saw everyone else, how they stared, how they talked about me. Even my own father winces every time he sees it. Why, why would I want to see you do the same?"

Cloud's breath caught in his throat as he saw angry tears at the corner of Leon's eyes. Lifting his thumb, he carefully brushed them away. Leaning in, he asked quietly. "Do you see me wincing?" Leon's eyes had widened at the intimate touch before they narrowed with almost suspicion at the question. Cloud continued though. "I don't care about it, and I don't think it ruins your face or whatever it is you're thinking. I want to help you through this, so don't push me away." He tilted his head to the side, a soft blush crossing his face before he spoke up hesitantly. "I know you like me." Leon's eyes snapped up to his own as Cloud took a breath. "I know you like me and I have to say that I like you too. You're an amazing person. Amazingly infuriating at times, but I love every moment we spend together. So don't push me away just because you think I won't like how you look. I still think you're as handsome as ever."

Leon bit his lip, looking up at Cloud before he suddenly leaned in and pressed his mouth against Cloud's. Cloud's eyes widened with shock before after a moment, they slid closed, his arms wrapping around Leon's shoulders. Leon deepened the kiss, his own hands flying up to twist themselves into Cloud's blond spikes, desperation to be accepted clear on his lips. After the need to breathe became too strong, Cloud broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Leon's, his lips pulling into a soft smile. "Hey, where are staying for school next year? The dorms?"

Leon shook his head. "No. I'm not going back there."

"Come live with me then."

Leon's eyes widened. "What?"

"Stay with me. My roommate's graduating this year. I promise that we don't have to make things awkward. We'll take things as they come, okay?"

A flush crossed over Leon's cheeks and he buried his face against Cloud's shoulder, muttering a low, "Whatever," against Cloud's shirt. Cloud smiled, taking that as an agreement as he wrapped his arms around Leon's waist.

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"Well, Leon? How do you feel? Officially a graduate now. I thought you'd never make it."

Leon rolled his eyes but accepted a kiss on the cheek. "I feel about the same as I did this morning. Except now I'm sweaty from having to sit in the sun for so long."

Three years had passed since Leon had gotten into that fight with Seifer. Over those three years, Leon had continued to grow until he was now nearly two inches taller than Cloud. His features were now fully developed and without any traces of adolescent softness, his handsome, mature face only accentuated by his longer hair. He had also worked hard to turn his lean frame into a well-muscled body. Some days Cloud couldn't believe that this was the same young man that he had first known.

His personality though, was still transformed after the incident. He had switched his major from psychology to criminal justice. The attack had seemed to prompt new habits; he always locked the door now and hated Cloud walking around on his own at night. He had learned to use a gun and basic self-defense maneuvers and had even gone so far as to enroll in the police academy which would begin in only a few months. Cloud was proud of Leon for his ability to come to terms with what had happened though and wouldn't trade the man for any other.

They still lived in their small apartment, though Cloud was happy to announce that they were currently in the market for a new one, maybe one with a few extra bedrooms to put all of their accumulated things into.

Leon's low voice interrupted Cloud's thoughts. "I don't know why you're so excited about our graduations though. I'm going straight to the academy and you're going to medical school."

"It's still somewhat of a landmark. And as such I think we should celebrate."

"Like go out to a club or…?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of going somewhere fancy. You know, a nice restaurant?" Cloud turned away to strip off his dress shirt in order to exchange it for another. It had been a hot day for a graduation ceremony, and Leon hadn't been lying about getting sweaty.

He didn't know why he was surprised to feel Leon's arms wrap around his waist, his boyfriend officially of two years kissing his neck. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here all night?"

Cloud smirked, closing his eyes to enjoy the contact. "Humor me. I plan on making it worth your while."

"Suspicious."

Chuckling, Cloud twisted around in Leon's arms, kissing him once on the lips. "I know. Now go change, I've made reservations already and we're not going to be late."

Leon rolled his eyes again but went to their bedroom as ordered, coming out a moment later in a clean pair of clothes. After Cloud approved the choices, they drove to dinner. Cloud hadn't been lying when he said fancy restaurant; it was –the- fanciest restaurant in all of Radiant Garden. Leon's suspicious curiosity was heightened even further by the small talk Cloud kept up during the entire meal. Being so used to the other's mannerisms during dinners, he would have to say that the blond was acting almost nervous.

Still, he didn't think anything of it until the waiter was taking the food away and they had paid for their dinner when Cloud suddenly pushed something toward him across the table. Cloud nodded down to the box, his cheeks already tinted pink. "Open it."

Leon raised an eyebrow but lifted the lid; his thoughts freezing when he saw that it was empty save for a simple gold ring, smooth and without any decoration. Across the table, Cloud smiled softly, amused that he had managed to shock Leon so much. That didn't happen so often these days. "Squall 'Leon' Leonheart, would you marry me?"

Staring down at the ring, Leon's eyes then flashed up to Cloud's face before a tender smile grew on his face. "I guess. Whatever."

Cloud's smile turned to a grin as he watched Leon carefully lift the ring out of the box. Leon's actions had always spoken stronger than his words, and the gentleness with which he handled the ring clearly gave away his feelings. Cloud reached over the table and took the ring from Leon's hand then slipped it onto the other's finger. "Good."

Leon squeezed his hand then tilted his head to the side. "When we talked before, you said you were interested in having kids though…"

"We could always adopt." Cloud's smile turned into a teasing smirk. "How many do you think you could handle, Leon? Two, four?"

Leon snorted. "I'd like to see you deal with that many kids going through puberty."

"Point taken. We'll think about adopting one then, eventually. After we move into our new apartment."

Leon nodded then stood up, still holding onto Cloud's hand as he pulled him up to his feet. Seeing Cloud's confused expression, he smiled a little. "I think we have a little more celebrating to do. But maybe back at the house this time."

Cloud recognized the husky drop in the other's voice and smirked, following the other man out to their car. It was the start of a new life for both of them. Hopefully they could make it a good one.

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	20. Bonus Chapter 2: Demyx and Zexion

Holy mother of all that's good. This chapter nearly killed me. And not just because it's the longest chapter I've yet written. I've also discovered that November is a tough time to write fanfiction. What with NaNoWriMo and final papers to get through, it was a miracle that this got done as quickly as it did. Anyway, for you guys reading that probably means that you won't be seeing the last bonus chapter until the first week of December. But I'll try to make it up to you, it'll probably end up being just as long as this lovely story (which I really did have fun writing, despite my complaining). Thanks to everyone who reviewed for Leon and Cloud's chapter: Kichi Tsukima,Nierx, ramen-is-my-goddess, XfallenXshadowX, CloudedMirror, Before-I-Fall, DemonicxTears, Sky Blue Baby, Tinker16, Scootkadoot, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, -IvyBlonde-, Aindel S. Druida, Ollimartic, Dust to Dusk, CloakedxSchemer, yumie-darkness123, Keira-93, NightmareFairy, Mare Dragon, A-chan, Silver Butterfly07, FlurryDivider! You guys rock! ^^

Oh ya, and just recently a few people have asked me if they could so a fanart of my story! I was more than happy to say, yes, I'd be honored! And that goes out to all you dudes out there, it would be so awesome! ^^ Just make sure to message me after its done so that I can take a look! ;)

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Bonus Chapter 2: Demyx and Zexion

A warm spring day at Radiant Garden University found Demyx sprawled out on a patch of grass on campus, his arms behind his head as he stared up at the clouds. It was a nice day to be outside. The sun was shining, the birds were out, and everything was completely peaceful. Made a guy glad to be alive and lying out on the grass. Suddenly the peaceful view was interrupted though by a cloud much closer to the ground and Demyx tilted his head back, smiling as he spotted a familiar redhead leaning over him, a cigarette between his lips. "Hey, Axel!"

"Hey, Dem. Communing with nature again or some such shit?"

Demyx laughed and sat up as Axel dropped down beside him, answering Axel's question in a teasing tone. "Nope. If I were I'd be dancing around naked."

"And they say freshmen are innocent."

"I'm living with you and your brother for the year. And I've known you for what, four years now?" Demyx grinned then rolled over so that his head was lying in Axel's lap. "I think you probably killed all innocence a while ago."

Axel chuckled and lazily blew out a smoke ring. "Don't act like it was a one-way street now." After another puff of his cigarette, he spoke up again. "So what are you doing next Tuesday anyway?"

"I dunno. Why?"

"I was talking to this one guy in my physics class yesterday, right? And somehow the topic of ghosts comes up. I was saying how much me and my buddy enjoyed watching those kinds of horror shows, as we do, when this girl suddenly butted into the conversation. I swear she must be in a sorority or something; big chest, skinny waist, and a hollow, blond head of hair." He drew out the body shape with his hands and Demyx snorted.

"Watch what you say about blonds, Axel. One's lying in your lap. "

"I'll say whatever I want about them. It's all true and you know it. Actually I take that back, Namine's got some brains." Axel grinned at Demyx's pout but continued on with his story. "Anyway, she was talking about how her house was haunted and about how none of the girls would stay in it and went on and on. You understand that I had to make her shut up. I had a hangover and just really wasn't in the mood."

Demyx tilted his head back, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What did you say and how will it effect my Tuesday?"

Axel blew out another puff of smoke then smiled sheepishly down at him. "I kind of told her that you and I were ghost hunters and that we would check out her house for her. That okay with you, Dem?"

Demyx was silent for a moment as he stared up at Axel. Suddenly a large grin spread across his face and he lurched into a sitting position and grabbed Axel's leg. "You mean it? We get to pretend to be ghost hunters?" Axel grunted as Demyx shook him excitedly. "Wow, this is so cool, it'll be like being in all of those TV shows we've watched about ghost investigators!" He stopped, his expression falling as quickly as it had come. "But we don't have any of the right tools."

"Relax." Axel smirked and poked Demyx's chest. "I've got it all figured out. I've got a tape recorder that I use for classes, Reno's got that nice hand-held digital camera, and you could bring some sort of Wiccan voodoo. We don't need much. All we have to do is wave a few instruments around then get out of there. Quick, easy, and best of all, they're going to pay us. It turned out to be a better deal than I anticipated, I would have done it just to get the girl to shut up."

Demyx tapped his chin. "It does seem a little underhanded. But…if I get the chance to pretend to be a ghost hunter, I guess I'll let it slide."

They high-fived then Axel stood up. "Come on. We should get back to the apartment before Reno freaks out again. Speaking of apartments though, have you found out where you and Nami are gonna stay next year?"

Standing, Demyx brushed the grass off his pants and let out a little sigh. "No, I'm still looking. I want her first time here in Radiant Garden to be nice, so I'm still tying to find the best place to stay."

"You, my friend, are a good big brother." Axel slung an arm over Demyx's shoulders as they started their walk home. Luckily, their apartment was only a few blocks from campus. And the walk was pleasant enough, lined with shopping centers, beautiful older homes, and even the local church; it was almost picturesque really. "But don't worry. You'll find a place to live. I mean if Reno could do it, how hard could it be, right? The real time for you to look is going to be at the end of the school year anyway. Tons of kids are going to be selling their places when they graduate, all of them at bargainable prices. Now if I were you I'd start looking south of campus, closer to the inner city. It doesn't have the best view, but the prices are going to be much – Dem, you're totally didn't hear anything I just said, did you?" He frowned, craning his neck to see what had entranced his fiend so completely. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Demyx swore that he had died and gone to Heaven. The Christian kind too. It had to be because across the street in the church courtyard sat the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. He was wearing a white robe of some sort over what looked to be a mainly black outfit. His face though, or what Demyx could see of it behind a veil of almost purple gray hair was beautiful, delicate in an almost feminine way. He was engrossed in a book on his lap though so Demyx knew he must be intelligent. Finding his voice after a moment of openly staring, Demyx turned to Axel, his voice soft with awe. "Who do you think he is?"

"How the hell should I know? Do I look like the church-going type to you? But seriously Dem, come on, let's go – hey, Demyx!"

Demyx was already half-way across the street. Approaching the low stone fence with the excitement of a puppy, Demyx called out eagerly. "Hey, hey, you!" The boy looked up and Demyx's excitement if possible increased. "Yeah, you! What's your name? Mine's Demyx!"

The boy gave him one glance before he stood up, snapped his book shut and walked back into the church. Demyx wiggled with disappointment before he let out a yelp as Axel grabbed onto his ear. "Ow, ow, ow! Axel, let go!"

"Let's go Dem…" He didn't release Demyx's ear until they were a block away from the church. "You sure know how to pick them, don't you?"

Demyx rubbed his ear, pouting as he glanced over to Axel. "What was wrong with him? I thought he was pretty cute."

Axel rolled his eyes then flicked Demyx in the forehead. "Don't be stupid, he was wearing the white collar." At Demyx's blank expression, he sighed. "He's a priest, Dem. He can't exactly get with anyone, especially not some band-crazed, witch boy." Demyx's face fell and Axel clapped him on the back. "Don't be depressed, there are other not completely unattainable boys out there."

"Yeah…but none of them will look like him."

"Come on, Dem. I'll make it up to you when we get to the apartment. We can get drunk and play video games until we pass out tomorrow morning. Okay?" When Demyx nodded, Axel patted his back again. "Alright. Sounds good to me too."

Demyx tried to forget about the boy, he really did. But even after two hours of video gaming and light drinking, he was still thinking about him. And he didn't even know the kid's name either. Why had he walked back inside? And Axel certainly wasn't helping to distract him or anything, the lanky red-head had fallen asleep twenty minutes ago. He had had a long night but still, so mean. Demyx debated waking Axel up but he also was fighting the urge to run back to the church to find out more about that boy, the one he shouldn't be thinking about. All of these internal dilemmas was how he found himself on the phone a little while later, spilling everything to his little sister.

"And then, then he walked back into the church, like I hadn't called him over! What did I do wrong, Nami?"

_"Well,"_ his sister's soft voice was hesitant, _"have you ever thought that you might be a little too straight-forward sometimes? He was probably just shy, Demyx, and you scared him off."_

"But I'm not scary!"

On the other end, Namine sighed._ "It might be better this way. If he really was a priest then Axel might be right. He wouldn't be able to have a relationship with you, or so I've heard. Not to mention once that he would probably be uncomfortable with you being Wiccan. If people here in Twilight Town don't like it so much, I doubt he would."_ She paused for a moment then asked. _"But what were you talking about before when you started your story, about Axel having some idea about ghost hunting?"_

"Oh, yeah. Axel and me are going to go investigate this one sorority house or something. The girl he talked to said it really was haunted! Sounds pretty awesome, right?"

_"It does sound fun, but you should also be careful. If there really is a spirit there then you could be getting in over your head. Remember to bring that charm you made when you were home last summer."_

Demyx chuckled then reached under his shirt, pulling out a small wooden charm attached to a leather necklace. "I never take it off, Nami. And I'm pretty sure that Axel keeps the one I made him on too. So don't worry, we'll be perfectly fine either way. I'll even call you and tell you all about it once we get back. I bet nothing will happen though, except for having to go through way too many girly rooms."

_"Well as long as you're not drunk like you are now, I won't worry about you."_

Demyx frowned and sat up. "I'm not drunk!" The movement caused his head to spin though and he sunk back into the couch, pouting lightly. "Not too bad anyway. Just a few beers. Axel's house isn't completely stocked full of alcohol or anything."

_"I'll have to take your word on that until I come to the university next year and I get to see how you two really act when you're not expecting company."_ Her tone was teasing, but it definitely held an underlying warning. "_And I'd better not find out that you're getting into the same trouble as you did in high school."_

"No way, Nami, we're not that bad. I haven't even smoked anything all year, promise." Glancing at the digital clock beneath the TV, Demyx let out a little yelp. "Oh no, it's almost six! Reno's coming back soon, Nami, and we still have to clean the apartment! But I'll talk to you later, okay? Yep, love you too. Bye!" Demyx hung up as soon as Namine had said her farewell then launched himself onto Axel, startling the young man awake. Cursing, Axel could only run his hand through his hair groggily as Demyx shook his shoulder. "Axel, Reno will be back in less than ten minutes!"

"So? Let him find the place a mess. See if I care."

"He may be your brother, but he could still kick us out. Come on, Axel!"

Axel grumbled but nonetheless staggered up and grabbed some empty beer bottles. An angry Reno might not be too threatening, but he was annoying and so best to be avoided. After all, Axel had already gotten himself into a mess by reacting to an annoying person within the last few hours.

Two days had passed and it was now Sunday. Demyx had woken up early, much earlier than he usually did. Creeping though the quiet apartment, he was careful not to make any noise. He would rather not alert Axel to his plans, especially because he would be angry at having been woken up before noon. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. So he tiptoed out, making sure to lock the door behind him before hurrying down to the street.

He was so excited. For sure, he was going to go see that boy again, and this time, he wouldn't give up until he found out the other's name. It had been eating away at him for the past two days. He had to know what it was. His anxiousness must have quickened his pace because the next thing Demyx knew, he was standing in front of the church.

He approached the main door cautiously. It was an old building, made out of stone, large stained glass windows breaking up the thick wall. From the outside, Demyx had always thought it slightly intimidating. He had never wanted to go inside before, after all, as a Wiccan he wasn't exactly a welcome guest since had no plans of converting, but now it was different. Now he actually had a reason for going inside.

Pressing on the thick wooden door, he was surprised to hear sounds from the inside, the low tones of an organ mixed with what sounded like singing. His eyes widened with realization as he slipped inside and found it filled with people. That's right, Sunday was the Christian day of worship. Quickly scurrying into the main room, he took a seat in one of the back benches next to an elderly woman. He gained a bit of confidence when she didn't even give him a second glance and took the chance to look around the room. It was actually much nicer inside than he had anticipated. It was a large room, but the colored light coming in through the window filled it all with a soft glow, accentuated by the organ and singing. As a music lover, he took a second to enjoy the sound.

He was surprised though when as soon as the song ended, everyone got down onto their knees, leaving him the only one still sitting on the bench. He looked around, head whipping around wildly before he realized that, with everyone kneeling, he was given a perfect view of the altar at the front of the room. And that boy was standing up there!

Grinning, Demyx wiggled in his seat, sending him a little wave when the young man's gaze momentarily scanned the crowd. His visible blue eye froze when he spotted Demyx, his expression changing to shock to disapproval in half a second. Seeing the look, Demyx quickly lowered his hand but couldn't get rid of his smile. The boy was so cute! Especially in his robe. Everyone else up near the altar was wearing them too, but the boy looked the best in it.

It was hard to keep quiet during the entire worship session. Demyx hadn't realized that it would take so long. And everyone kept kneeling and standing and sitting. It was all very confusing, but he supposed that to an outsider, a Wiccan ceremony would be just as strange if not stranger. When the mass was over, he slipped down the side aisle and ran up to the altar. The priest and his helpers, Demyx assumed that was what the boy was since he handed the priest things, were still up front talking to people. Well his boy wasn't, he was off to the side and already had a book in his hands.

Demyx approached him carefully, remembered what Namine had said. He didn't want to scare the boy. After a moment of not being acknowledged, he leaned over, peeking over the boy's shoulder. "So…what are you reading?"

The boy started, his head snapping up before he frowned with what seemed to be slight irritation. "I would have thought you would have left by now."

Demyx pouted. "Why would you say that?"

"I've never seen you here before. And you're not really in proper church-going attire."

Demyx looked down at his ripped faded jeans and old band t-shirt. Okay, so he probably could have dressed better. His pout deepened and he tilted his head to the side. "But I really wanted to see you again. You never told me your name the first time we met."

"I wouldn't say our encounter qualified as an actual meeting. And why do you care?"

"Zexion, who is your friend?"

Demyx looked over at the priest who had walked over then down at the boy, whose name he now knew was Zexion. Zexion's eyebrow twitched but he answered as respectfully as he could. "Father, this is…"

"Demyx." Demyx answered for him, throwing out his hand. The priest took it warmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Demyx. It's nice to see someone finally spending some time with Zexion. He needs some companionship every once and a while."

"Father." Zexion hissed.

Demyx grinned. "I'll do my best to keep him company! He seems like a really cool guy!"

The priest smiled before his attention was diverted by another member of the congregation. Demyx squeaked as a hand suddenly grasped his arm, looking down to see that Zexion was staring up at him with annoyance. "I don't know what you're doing here, but I won't tolerate you making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you, I really want to hang out with you. You seem really smart and I think that we could be friends."

"…Is that so? You want to be my friend?"

Demyx nodded eagerly and Zexion closed his book again, then looked straight up at him. "Then as my friend you should appreciate my need for solitude. Please leave."

Demyx froze, thinking over what Zexion had just said before he deflated a little. Suddenly though, a grin spread over his face and he pointed excitedly at Zexion. "Hey, but you just said we were friends!" Zexion rose an eyebrow as Demyx jumped up and down. "Great! I'll come back to hang out some time them! See you later, okay?"

Zexion could only stare as Demyx happily left the church. Then he shook his head and began to clear off the altar. Hopefully that strange blond wouldn't be coming back for a while.

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"And so then the priest was saying how Zexion needed people to hang out with him. I think he must be really shy or something, Zexion I mean, which is weird because he's so cute! And he's always reading. I think he must be like a genius or something."

"You have a problem, Dem. And keep in mind this is me telling you that." Axel shook his head as he took in his friend's starry eyed expression. "A real big problem. But hopefully you'll be able to forget about him for a second so that we can take care of the moment at hand."

Demyx shook himself out of his warm thoughts to see that they had arrived at the sorority house. The last few days had passed like a blur to him, it was amazing it was already Tuesday night. He was just waiting for the right time to go back to the church. He figured it would be a good idea if he gave Zexion a little bit of time. Shouldering his backpack full of ghost hunting supplies, he smiled over at Axel. "I think I could probably manage it for a little while."

"It's a miracle, he's come back to the world of the non-love struck. Now get ready to look like a professional, if we're going to get paid in full we've got to make everything look good."

Walking up the front steps, Axel rapped lightly on the front door then hopped back half a foot to fall in line with Demyx. It took under a minute before the door swung open, revealing three blond girls. Axel had to admit, he liked blonds, but he had the sneaking suspicion that he was about to get real sick of them real fast. The one in front was the one from his Physics class and she grabbed his hand. "Oh my God, Axel, you actually came. Some of the girls didn't think you would, but I knew you'd be here. I mean, I offered to pay you and all and I sit next to you in Physics so even if you didn't show up I could have totally railed you out. And this must be your friend."

"Yep, that's Demyx. Now could you show us where most of the activity is? We could start our investigation there."

The blond girl shrugged then stepped back into the house, motioning them inside. "I guess you could just start here then. The whole house is haunted. It's like this ghost can go anywhere."

One of her housemates shivered. "Yeah, it's so creepy. I don't even like taking showers here anymore because I'm worried I'll get attacked or something. And after what happened with Jenna I'm never going to be here alone at night again!"

Axel tilted his head to the side, noting all of their frightened faces with a confused smile. "I feel like I'm missing part of the conversation here. What happened to Jenna?"

"She was totally attacked while she was down in the kitchen a while ago! She even had this scratch down her back! It was so scary. She hasn't come back since. Not that I could blame her." The girl turned to Axel, "You've got to figure out what's here and how to get rid of it. We can't live in a haunted house!"

"Alright, alright. We'll start here then." The entry hall was cheerfully decorated with flowers and photographs of numerous girls, the walls painted in RGU's school colors of green and yellow. Axel took all of it in as he grabbed for the back pack on Demyx's shoulder and pulled out a voice recorder. He glanced down at the rest of his not-so professional equipment then over to the girls. The girls who happened to be deciding at this very minute how much to pay them for their services. Clearing his throat, he caught their attention. "So, ladies. I'd appreciate it if you could leave the room for this. As you might imagine, our equipment is very sensitive."

Seeing that they were about to argue, Demyx piped up. "Besides. If we do manage to find your ghost, our investigating might make him angry, and we wouldn't want you in the same room as an angry ghost."

They ran upstairs.

Axel turned to Demyx with a grin. "I take back everything I've said recently. You're a genius, Dem. And not just a musical one."

Demyx took a bow. "Thank you. Now, where should we start?"

"Hm…Well, I guess since I pulled this out we could start with trying to capture their voices. What's it called, um, EVPs or something. Forget what it stands for." Axel shrugged then turned on the recorder. "This is Axel in the sorority house. If there are any ghosts in here, we'd love to talk to you."

Demyx nudged his side. "Ask them questions."

"Oh, right. Do you have a name? Are you a male ghost?" Axel paused then smirked, putting his hand on his hip. "You have a sweet deal here. A house full of girls. I heard you jump girls while they were alone. So are you a perverted male ghost?"

A sudden, loud thud to the side that shook the floorboards caused both of them to freeze. Axel turned his head, looking into the family room where the noise had come from then back at Demyx. "…Think we should check it out?"

"Uh, only if you want to."

Axel snorted but led the way into the darker room. It was decked out with a couple of couches and a small TV. There was a wooden cross hanging on the wall between more pictures of the sorority girls. So either they started out religious in which case the haunting might be all in their heads, or else the haunting drove them to put up religious signs. Axel hoped it was the former. Walking into the room though, he immediately spotted the source of the noise before he could even find the light switch. The coffee table had fallen onto its side. Pursing his lips, Axel edged around it, kicking the thing tentatively with his foot before he glanced up at Demyx. "Hey, Dem…"

"Yeah?"

"You have the power to feel spirits, right?"

Demyx tilted his head to the side. He and Axel never really talked about his family's psychic powers much, so he actually had to think about how to answer. "Kind of? Nami's way better though. And I've never really had that much practice with it, so I'm not completely sure how it all works."

"So…are you sensing anything?"

"I'm kind of really freaked out right now, if that counts." Suddenly Demyx's breath hitched and he grabbed Axel's shoulder, "Axel! The far wall!"

Axel's gaze snapped up, his neon green eyes widening as just caught sight of a large black shadow sinking back into the floor. Finding his voice after a second, he asked shakily. "Was that a person-shaped shadow?" Demyx nodded, his grip still tight on Axel's shirt as Axel swallowed. "It could have been our own silhouettes from car headlights coming inside. No, wait, the blinds area all closed, aren't they?" Another nod from Demyx. "Maybe we should get the camera out."

Demyx nodded again, quickly sifting through the backpack before handing Axel the digital camera. Turning it on with a low breath, Axel looked around the room again. "We probably could have come better prepared for this."

Finally finding his voice, though it was shaky, Demyx spoke up. "I think, we'll be okay. If it is a ghost, we've got our charms with us, so we shouldn't get hurt. But so far, it seems really, a lot stronger than what a lot of the TV shows have."

"And damn aggressive. But we can fight fire with fire." Axel rose his voice. "So what, are you trying to scare us or something?" Demyx winced as Axel's voice turned taunting but Axel ignored his friend's discomfort. "Oh, I'm terrified, you made a freaky shadow. And that table thing, pretty lame. We weren't even in the room, dude. If you want to tell us something, then come out and say it! Do something for the camera to see!"

A sudden rattling behind them caught their attention, and Axel turned the camera around just in time to see the cross on the wall trembling. His grip on the camera grew somewhat slack as the cross slowly rotated until it was hanging upside-down. What he wasn't expecting was when the cross froze then suddenly flew off the wall and hit him square in the forehead.

"Shit! God damn it!" Cursing, he dropped the camera, clutching his forehead as the cross clattered to the ground. Demyx was immediately at his side, worriedly trying to lift the other's face to see the damage. He bit his lip as Axel finally raised his head, seeing that the cross had left a red imprint. It would probably be gone by morning, but still.

Growling, Axel rubbed at the red spot, his other hand fumbling for the camera. "Damn it, that frickin' hurt! Shit! It's not bleeding, is it?"

"No. I hate to say it, but you did ask for it." Demyx pulled Axel up as the red-head furiously pressed buttons on the camera. "What are you doing?"

"Playing it back. I want to make sure I caught that." When he pressed play they both leaned in, Axel making sure to turn up the volume on the small speakers to make sure the entire rattling sequence was caught too. Sure enough, as the camera was panning over to the cross when Axel first turned to look at it, they could hear a faint rattling. When the cross froze after spinning over though, they were shocked to hear a growling voice come out of the speakers, its two words fierce and dark. "Get. Out."

Demyx and Axel looked at each other before simultaneously breaking into a run for the door. Screw getting paid. They were in way over their heads. Better to retreat and win the war later then to go down in the first battle.

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"Dude, Axel. We really need some help with this thing."

"You think I don't know that, Dem?" Axel stopped his pacing across their apartment floor and spun around to point at the upside-down cross bruise on his forehead. "I've got this lovely parting gift. Man, I'm going to have to go emo or something, comb my bangs down for a few days so no one sees. Reno's reaction was bad enough, of course he always is a bit overdramatic but still, I don't need everyone thinking I've joined some sadistic cult."

Demyx perked up. "Hey, I know what we need to do!" Axel gave a questioning grunt. "We just do what they do in the movies; go get a Catholic priest!"

Axel snorted, putting his hands onto his hips. "And that's just some shallow excuse to see your not-boyfriend again," he paused momentarily to think about it. "Which actually might just work. Alright, Dem. Go see if you can commandeer your little friend. It'll take too long to get an actual exorcist, that always seems to take forever in all of the shows, but maybe your crush can help in some way." Seeing Demyx's elated expression, Axel frowned. "But don't take too long. I'm going to head back to the house, so we can meet there, but there's no way in hell I'm going in there alone."

"I'll be as quick as I can!" And Demyx kept to his word, nearly running back to the church. He entered it without any of his first trepidation; after all, he was here on a mission now. And he really wanted to see Zexion. On a late Wednesday afternoon, the building was now pretty much deserted. It lacked some of the warmth it had held on Sunday, but still, it was calming, and Demyx felt himself relaxing as he peered around the room. Seeing no sign of him, Demyx went up to the altar; he knew he had seen a door coming off the side last time he'd come. Sure enough, there it was. Just as he was about to slip inside, a stern voice behind him stopped him in his tracks. "What do you think you're doing?"

Whipping around, Demyx grinned. "Zexion! I was looking for you!"

The young man was dressed in all black this time, the only color being the square of white on his collar and the bit of white on his cuffs. Running over to him, Demyx was about to throw his arms around him for a hug when Zexion suddenly brought his arm up, grabbing Demyx's chin. His visible blue eye was scanning his face critically, and when he spoke, his voice was laced with a hint of what might have been concern. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

Demyx blinked with confusion, tilting his head to the side. "What?"

"You've been near something evil since you last visited. Follow me."

Demyx followed as ordered, rambling into an explanation as he followed Zexion down the main aisle. "That's actually why I came to see you. Well, not the only reason, because I really just want to see you, but also, my friend and I were helping these girls investigate their house which might have been haunted. Turns out they were probably right." Zexion had stopped when they reached a small basin of water. Demyx paused in his speech as the shorter man dipped his fingers into the water, holding still as Zexion stood up on his tiptoes and drew a small cross on his forehead with the water. Demyx couldn't help but smile at the feel of his favorite element, and for some reason he felt as if a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Seeing that Zexion was still looking at him intently, he continued in his explanation. "I mean they had told us stories about getting scratched and stuff but when we went there the table got knocked over and we saw a dark shadow. Then Axel said some stuff and the cross on the wall turned over and smacked Axel in the forehead and we heard a voice and then we ran out."

Zexion frowned as he looked up at him. "It sounds more like a demonic presence than a haunting. And you two went into the house and provoked the thing without any protection?"

"Oh, no, don't worry, we had protection. Just the wrong kind." Demyx smiled and pulled the charm out from under his shirt. "See? If it had only been a ghost, Axel wouldn't have that bruise on his face now."

Zexion reached up, curiously touching the charm before his expression suddenly closed off and his hand dropped down as if it had been burned. He swallowed then lifted his head, staring Demyx straight in the eyes. "I would appreciate it if you would leave this church now." With that said, he turned and began to march back up to the altar.

Demyx tilted his head to the side then looked down at his charm, wondering why Zexion had reacted the way he did. Then it clicked. The charm was carved into a well-known Wiccan symbol, Zexion must have figured out that he was a witch. He opened his mouth then dashed after Zexion, who had knelt down in front of the altar and looked to be praying. Slowing his pace when he reached the other boy, he carefully asked. "Um, Zexion?"

"Leave, Demyx. You've no business here and I can't help you."

"I don't need help, the house does!" Demyx crouched down. "There are girls in that house that have to live with that creepy guy! Come on, Zexion, you don't have to even look at me or anything, but aren't you required to help out people in need and all that?"

After a moment more, Zexion cracked open an eye, eyeing him almost with suspicion. Demyx countered with his best begging face though and finally Zexion let out a long sigh. "Fine. I'll look at the house. But I'd appreciate it if afterwards you had nothing more to do with me."

Demyx frowned but nodded to the terms. He would always have time to convince Zexion otherwise later on. After Zexion had packed a small bag, the trip to the house was awkward. Demyx kept trying to start conversations only to stop at Zexion's expressionless face. It was as if the other boy was blocking him out completely. When they finally did reach the house though, Axel was outside as promised, trying to look busy organizing their small supply of equipment though actually just waiting for reinforcements to arrive. When he saw them approaching, Axel raised his hand. "Yo! You must be Zexion, it's nice to finally meet you. You're the only thing Demyx has been talking about for like, days." He ignored Demyx's whine of protest and pointed to the cross bruise with his forehead. "This isn't natural in case you're wondering. I might be a sexy devil, but not that literally."

Zexion turned to look at Demyx as the blond pouted. "Axel, you're just making everything worse!"

"It's what I do. Now come on. I've already smoked through my whole pack waiting for you guys and I actually brought my laptop and found a few extra cameras to set up. I also took the opportunity to kick the girls out of the house, so we don't need to worry about any awkward situations." He turned to Zexion. "I hope you know something about laptops and setting up cameras, because you're going to be helping out with this too."

"Axel! Don't be so mean!"

Despite Axel's natural self, the three of them managed to set up the three cameras in the house. There had been a small malfunction with trying to link them all simultaneously to live feeds on the laptop but surprisingly Zexion had been the one to fix the problem. Apparently he was rather adept at computers.

Which was how Axel and Demyx now found themselves watching the screen as Zexion blessed the house. Sighing, Demyx leaned his chin on the palm of his hand, finally taking his eyes away from Zexion's black and white form as he disappeared from the upstairs hallway into one of the bedrooms. "I don't know, Axel, I think I really messed up. He hasn't even looked at me since he found out I was wearing my talisman. I think he hates me, what am I going to do if he hates me, Axel?" Demyx turned to look to Axel for guidance, frowning a little when he saw that Axel's eyes were still on the screen. "A little advice would be good right around now."

"Look at the screen, Dem." Demyx obeyed the whispered order, his eyes widening when he saw that a black form seemed to be materializing in the doorway Zexion had just gone into and walking inside. A second later, they heard a shout from upstairs and Demyx jumped to his feet, taking the stairs two at a time as he ran up. He found Zexion alone in the room, the young man panting slightly, a vial of water outstretched in his hand.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But you need to get out of here, it's not gone yet." As he said that, the black form materialized again, out of the wall this time not two feet from Zexion's left shoulder. At Demyx's shout, Zexion whirled around but not fast enough and the entity slammed into his side, sending him to the ground.

"Zexion!" Demyx crouched over him as Zexion struggled to sit up, his eyes never leaving the black shape standing over them. Seeing the vial of water on the ground next to him, Demyx grabbed and uncorked it, murmuring a spell under his breath before he splashed the shadow with the water. The shadow shrieked then disappeared, sinking into the floorboards.

As Demyx grinned at a job well done, Zexion looked at the floor then at Demyx then back to the floor, confusion evident on his normally stoic face. "You, how did you do that? What did you even do?"

Demyx smiled and held up the empty vial. "That was a simple banishment spell. It came to mind when I saw the water. It is my favorite element, so it's easiest for me to learn spells for. I knew it was probably blessed, so that helped make my spell strong enough to actually work." When he saw that Zexion's confusion hadn't lifted, he held up a finger. "You see, my family does white magic, so I can fight bad energy too. Well, banish it anyway. It's not totally gone, just gone for now. Um, do you need help standing up?"

"No. I, I'm fine," Zexion murmured, wincing a bit as he picked himself up. Demyx couldn't help but notice as they walked downstairs that Zexion was still sneaking him confused glances. A small bubble of hope worked its way into his chest. Maybe he still had a chance with Zexion after all.

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A year had passed since that first incident and Demyx couldn't have been happier. After that first success, Axel had decided that they should go into business, and so, they began to seriously search out haunted places for investigation. So far nothing had been quite as intense as that first house. Luckily for them, the sorority girls hadn't had anymore scares after Demyx's banishment spell. He knew that it wasn't a permanent answer though, so whatever had been there would probably come back eventually. But then he could always ask Zexion for help.

Zexion. Demyx glowed a little at the thought as he helped Axel go through some old case files in the red-head's apartment. He couldn't really call it his apartment anymore since he had moved in to a place with Namine a few blocks down a while ago. But Zexion. Over the year, Zexion was slowly getting accustomed to working with them, and Demyx would actually go so far as to say that he was starting to be friendly with them. He would proudly say that they were close friends actually. The young man even willingly offered to come over to their apartment every week in order to look over their newest cases, which more often then not just turned into him looking over information on Axel's laptop while the other two watched movies. Well, Demyx always tried to help out with the research until he had learned that Zexion really worked best on his own when it came to that sort of stuff.

And he really had tried to tone down his feelings for him, but Demyx knew that Zexion still caught some signs of his affections. Demyx couldn't help it though, Zexion was too cute and wonderful and perfect. It was impossible to hide his adoration. When they got together every week it took all of Demyx's willpower not to jump the violet-haired boy.

And speaking of their weekly gathering, Demyx perked up as he heard a knock on the door. Axel smirked as Demyx ran for it, ripping open the front door. "Hi, Zexy!"

Zexion's brow twitched slightly at the nickname but he stepped into the apartment anyway. "Hello, Demyx. How has everything been going since last week?"

"Alright. The barn case out in the countryside turned out to be a total bummer though. Nothing but the creaking of an old building. But we have this totally awesome new one. Apparently this company's warehouse is haunted."

Zexion nodded then looked down at his shoes. "Actually, before we get to that, I have some news of my own."

"Good news?"

"It depends on the perspective."

Hearing where the conversation was going, Axel quickly stood up. "I just remembered that I need to talk to Reno about rent. Demyx, if you could entertain our guest for a moment, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Demyx frowned at his friend's receding back then led Zexion to a couch. "So, what's the news?"

Frowning, Zexion kept his gaze locked on his interlaced fingers. "I've been accepted into the seminary, to be trained as an ordained exorcist. But, the school is in Traverse Town." Demyx's happiness for his friend's accomplishment dropped. Traverse Town was a two-days' drive away. Noting the silence, Zexion continued, taking a deep breath. "I have also been having doubts, about how qualified I am for the position. I don't think I could morally accept the honor."

Demyx didn't want Zexion to go, but he didn't want Zexion to doubt himself. "Why not, you're more than qualified! Think of all the haunted places we've been to! You've never really exorcised anything yet, but you've kicked some ghost ass!"

"That's not my problem." Demyx looked down, curious now as Zexion raised his head to meet his gaze. "I denied myself admittance. And I," Zexion took another breath, almost as if what he was about to say pained him. "I have thought it through and…quit my position as acolyte. I'm no longer working for the church. Next school year I will be starting Radiant Garden University as a sophomore." He chuckled weakly. "Luckily for me I had enough credits from my high school days to keep from being a freshman."

Demyx stared at Zexion. He was shocked. Religious, Bible-wielding Zexion had given up becoming a priest? Sputtering, he tried to find words. "But, Zexy, why, why would you do that-!"

Zexion's lips on his cheek had cut him off mid-sentence. Freezing, Demyx could only stare as Zexion pulled away, a slight tint of pink across his cheeks as he murmured quietly. "It seems as though my heart has been stolen by an idiot witch. I couldn't in good faith continue on as a priest knowing that I loved him more than God."

Demyx blushed red then laughed and pulled Zexion into a tight hug. Zexion stiffened at the contact but loosened up as his blush grew; clearly they would have to work on Zexion's ability to show affection.

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Five months later, their relationship was still growing closer. Zexion had moved in with Demyx and Namine in their new apartment and seemed to get along surprisingly well with the blond girl and Namine had happily accepted his new presence in their home. Maybe it was because of their similar temperaments. For his part, Zexion was slowly learning how to be a student again. After spending two years in the church system instead of secular school, he had to adjust to the new diversity of students on campus, although since he had long since been acquainted with Axel, he was fairly used to the most extremes of the personalities there. Luckily for his sanity, living in an apartment with Demyx and Namine created a fairly calm atmosphere for him to relax.

He, Demyx, and Namine were all sitting down to dinner in fact when Axel burst into their apartment. Zexion frowned at the sudden intrusion, Demyx just had to give Axel a spare key to their apartment. But Demyx, being his normally bubbly self, immediately grinned. "Axel, what are you doing here?"

Axel grinned, holding up a piece of paper. "Boys, and girl, we have a new case!" He danced over to the table. "After the lull in the last month, we finally have something that sounds worth our while. I mean it. Even you'll be interested in this, Zexy."

Zexion snatched the paper out of his hand as Axel waved it in front of his nose, his eyes quickly scanning the printed-off e-mail conversation. Dishes flying out of the kitchen. Falling chandeliers. Strange voices. Full bodied apparitions and just lately possessions? It did sound interesting. He handed the paper to Namine for her to read then turned to Axel. "Fine. We can go there tomorrow."

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	21. Bonus Chapter 3: Two Years Later

Uh…*shuffles inside* Hey, dudes. Sorry about the long break. Good news: I finished NaNoWriMo and classes! Whoo! Now I only have finals, which I am more than happy to procrastinate from to write this chapter.

And, well, here's my final bonus chapter. A warning before you read. This is quite possibly the fluffiest, fluff-ball, puff of writing that I've wrote yet. I blame the Christmas season in the air. But I thought, hey, you guys deserve a fluffy ending, after all of the cliffhangers and pain I've put you and the characters through. So here you go. Not to say that this is the last we'll ever hear from this universe, but I'm sure this is a good place to leave things for now. ^^

I'll also be looking into new ideas for new stories, starring our favorite characters of course. Keep an eye out, dudes! :D

Thanks to all of the reviewers for the last chapter: CloakedxSchemer , Suna's Assassin, Mare Dragon, Aindel S. Druida, Whisper-Otonashi, Axeiru, Ollimartic, yumie-darkness123, DemonicxTears, Tinker16, Before-I-Fall, Before-I-Fall, ramen-is-my-goddess, Scootkadoot, A-chan, XfallenXshadowX, XfallenXshadowX.

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Bonus Chapter 3: Epilogue: Two Years Later

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"This is so stupid, Axel. Come get us so I can kill you."

_"Aw, come on Roxy, baby. Just a few more minutes. You and Nami are doing great."_

"A few more minutes?! We've been here for hours. It's officially Christmas Eve since two minutes ago. I'm tired and we haven't seen anything yet. Face it, this place isn't haunted."

_"It is, I promise. Now sit and look pretty."_

Roxas's eyebrow twitched and he choked the walkie-talkie in a stranglehold. Sitting beside him on the bed, Namine giggled.

Roxas didn't know how it had happened, but the two of them were sitting in the freakiest bedroom he had ever been in. It was dark, dirty, cold, and they were alone. Even the bed they were sitting on was moth-eaten and flat, its metal frame creaking and groaning every time they shifted an inch. Roxas found himself staring at the dark walls, the small flowers on the peeling, cracked wallpaper the only decoration in the entire room. It was either look at them or the creepy closet directly in his line of sight, so he chose the flowers instead.

The house they were in was part of a case which they had been working on for a few weeks now. The owner of the house had come to them in a panic. Apparently it had been her grandfather's house until he passed away when it had been passed onto her. She had moved in and begun renovations to get it ready for sale but after the first hammer blow strange phenomena had started up. It wasn't until she began to see apparitions that she actually got worried and had found them over the internet.

And apparently the ghost only came out around her and other blonds, which was how Roxas now found himself with Namine in the bedroom where the ghost was seen most often. Demyx had gotten out of it by saying that three people would have been too busy. Whatever. Roxas glared at the night-vision camera set up on the table a few feet away. Even knowing that the rest of the guys were just a few rooms away, being in such a place alone was slightly freaky.

After a second, he turned to Namine. "What is this ghost supposed to do anyway?"

Namine frowned thoughtfully, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "According to the client, the spirit is said to climb onto the bed during the night and jump on the mattress, pull the sheets off, and open and close the closet door randomly throughout the night." She sighed a little. "So far though, I haven't sensed anyth-" Suddenly she paused, attention peaked.

Roxas lifted his head, his gaze following Namine's to the closet door. He tensed as a rattle filled the room, his eyes widening when he saw that the sound was coming from the handle twisting on its own. Scooting closer to Namine, he swallowed as the handle twisted further. The door opened an inch and Roxas drew his legs up onto the bed. "Uh, Namine...?"

"I'm sensing a playful personality, but he seems only curious right now. Just stay calm."

Roxas stiffened as the door opened further in short little jerks until it had swung all the way open. His heart was pounding in his chest as a thick silence filled the room, all of his senses elevated as he desperately searched for any sign of the ghost; a shadow, a floorboard squeak, anything. He jumped slightly as Namine's hand touched his, relaxing slightly into the touch as she wrapped her slim fingers around his hand. "He's coming closer." She raised her voice a little, holding up a recorder in her other hand. "We're here to talk to you. What is your name?"

Roxas swallowed then spoke up slowly. "Do you know that you're scaring the woman who sleeps here?"

"Did you live here?"

Roxas tensed as the hair suddenly stood up along the back of his neck. Beside him, Namine frowned. "Hold still, Roxas, stay calm."

Roxas was about to ask what she was talking about when there was a sudden weight on the mattress directly behind him. His breath hitched. A second later a shadowy touch passed across the back of his neck, like fingers. Crying out, he leapt off of the bed, dragging Namine with him with his other hand clapped to the back of his neck.

"It's okay, Roxas!" Namine clutched onto his hand, waving at the camera to soothe any possible reactions. She pulled the younger boy behind her, facing the bed with a determined expression. "If you have something to say, please, say it to me. I can sense you; I can see you in my mind. Speak to me. If I can't hear you this will be able to." She lifted the recorder again.

The mattress creaked as if the ghost was standing up. Roxas grabbed onto Namine's shoulder as she stood firm. There were a few seconds where nothing happened. Then, there was a creak from the floorboard. Two more followed at an even pace, coming toward them.

There was another silence when Roxas suddenly heard a giggle to his side then a force on his back, shoving him over onto Namine. Toppling over, he tumbled on top of her, both of them falling to the ground as he threw his arms out.

There was a thundering of footsteps outside the room before the door was thrown open, Axel and Demyx running inside, their presence immediately cutting off any supernatural energy. Roxas grunted as he was heaved to his feet, Axel's voice in his ear as familiar long arms wrapped around his chest. "You okay, Roxy?"

"Get off of me!" Scowling, Roxas slapped Axel's hands away. "What kind of stupid idea was that? I hate being used as bait, Axel!"

"But it always works so well!" A cat-like smirk spread across Axel's lips and he wrapped his arms around Roxas again. "That was some show of paranormal activity, and I'm sure we got something on the recorder. I guess the ghosts just find you as irresistibly sexy as I do."

"Pervert. Damn pedo." Punching Axel in the arm, Roxas then turned to Namine with an apologetic smile. "Sorry that I fell on you."

"No, it's alright! I should have been paying closer attention to his movements but he moved so fast. Luckily he did not seem so violent, only playful. Hopefully we will have good news for our client, or at least nothing for her to be frightened of."

Demyx smiled as he helped Namine up. "That would be nice, it being Christmas and all."

Shaking his head, Axel smirked. "I still don't understand how you can get so into Christmas. Being a pagan and all."

"Hey, most of Christmas traditions came from pagan rituals. Besides, you get presents!"

Roxas snorted. "You're almost as bad as Sora."

"Speaking of Sora," Axel put his hands on his hips. "We should probably be getting you home."

"What? We're done?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think so. We have enough to prove that this place is haunted, likes to mess with little blonds, and it's already passed midnight." Axel looked down at his watch. "And if I remember right, you had a midnight curfew, so let's see if we can't get you back home fast."

Roxas rolled his eyes but followed Axel and the others out of the room, giving it one last glance before he hurried forward to grab Axel's hand. It had been two years since Roxas had started joining them on their cases, and it was safe to say that he still wasn't used to the more intense things. That was because most of the times, nothing exciting happened, so he had gotten used to boredom. Whenever something did happen, it always managed to shock him.

Outside of ghost hunting though, Roxas was shocked by how his life had changed over the past four years. He would be graduating high school in a few months. As crazy as it was to think about, Axel was turning twenty-six. He had graduated from college with majors in Chemistry and Fire Science and had actually moved on to become a fire fighter; as he explained, pyromaniacs made the best fire fighters. Zexion went straight into graduate school and was now working for his master's degree. Roxas had a suspicion that Zexion wasn't going to stop until he had reached his doctorate. Demyx on the other hand had graduated in the Liberal Arts and had gotten a job with a local orchestra much to his joy. Namine was exhibiting her works in galleries around town and was still taking a few art classes now and again to explore different paths though it was obvious she was going to be an artist for life.

He and Axel had been unofficially dating for two years. Well, dating in the sense of going out together and kissing and such. In fact, Roxas had so far been surprised with how seriously Axel was taking his underage status; it seemed like the redhead was working really hard to make sure that he didn't mess up their relationship. They did have their fights though. Sometimes Axel would do something so stupid that Roxas would give him the cold shoulder for weeks, like the time when he came to the Strife house drunk after a party. But they had always made up afterwards, and so far nothing had come up that had rattled them too badly. Roxas had to admit it, he was in love.

Once Roxas had shaken himself out of his thoughts, it took only a few minutes to put all of the equipment into the back of Axel's van. One thing about having been with the group for two years was that they now had a quick and efficient system for loading and unloading all the equipment. Roxas could even say that he was getting a crash course from Zexion in learning how to set up cameras with live feeds and systems of monitors; a good skill to have even outside of the ghost hunting business.

As he and Namine were lifting a particularly large monitor up into the bed of the van, Namine cleared her throat gently. "Roxas, I know you invited everyone over for Christmas this evening, and I just wanted to tell you that I'll be arriving a little later than everyone else."

"Oh, yeah, no problem. That's fine."

Grinning, Demyx sprung up from around the side of the van and threw his arms around Namine's waist. "My little sister has a date to go to!"

Roxas smiled curiously as Namine's cheeks turned pink. "Demyx! It's, it's not a date! He just wants to get together for a while!"

"I don't know," Roxas spoke up with a sly smile. "An outing on Christmas? Sounds like a date to me."

Demyx nodded, patting Namine's head. "It is! He's from her art class, you know, so they already spend hours together in school. I think he must really like her." He wrapped his arms around her again as his voice changed to a whine. "But she hasn't even introduced us yet. I want to know who my baby sister is dating!"

"She hasn't brought him home yet because she knows you'll scare him off the first time you meet him, stupid." Axel sauntered over to the back of the van with Zexion, hand wrapping around the back door. "It wouldn't be the first time, right, Zexion?"

Zexion colored a little but grabbed a pouting Demyx's hand. "Whatever the case may be, we need to go home and get some rest before tonight. We can look over the evidence after Christmas." His gaze lifted to meet Axel's green eyes. "What happened to taking Roxas home, Axel?"

With a glance at his watch, Axel cursed. "Shit. 1:05? You've got to be kidding me. Climb up to the front seat, Roxy. I'm going to get damn-well shot for this."

Roxas did as he was told, clambering over the piles of equipment to the front passenger seat as Axel slammed the back doors shut behind him. Despite his concerns for the time, Axel tried his best to follow the rules of the road, stopping at red lights and everything. The last thing he needed was to find himself face-to-face with a cop that would undoubtedly know Leon. The very idea made him shudder.

Within the hour though, they were pulling into the Strife driveway. As Axel switched gears to park, he turned to Roxas. "So, did you have fun tonight?"

Roxas snorted. "I guess I had as much fun as a guy could have getting touched and pushed around by a ghost."

"Don't be like that, you know I'd never let anything bad happen to you." Axel smirked and unbuckled his seat belt. He slid closer to Roxas and lifted the blond's chin, his voice lowering as he leaned down. "You know that, right?"

"I know." Roxas tilted his head up and closed the gap between their lips. As they kissed, Roxas felt Axel's fingers carding through his hair. A few touches went lower, soothing away any of the lingering cold from the supernatural contact with their heat. Pulling away after a few moments, Roxas allowed his eyes to flutter open to find Axel smiling down tenderly at him. He couldn't help the smile that found its way onto his own lips as Axel kissed his forehead. "So you're coming over this afternoon, right?"

"Yes, sir. Me, Dem, and Zexion will be here as soon as we can wake up and get ourselves presentable."

"Good." Roxas leaned up to peck him one last time on the lips before he opened the passenger door. "I guess I'll see you then."

With a shake of his head, Axel shifted back into his own seat and opened his window. "That's cold, Roxy. And here I thought we were getting into a big make-out session."

Snorting, Roxas walked around the car. "It's Christmas, pedo. Show some control."

"I will only when you stop being so adorable!"

Red in the face, Roxas spun on the van. "Goodnight, Axel! Get out of here!" Axel only laughed, rolling up the window before he pulled out of the driveway. Grumbling to himself and rubbing his hands together to warm them back up from the chilly air; Roxas stomped up to the front porch of the house, not too surprised to see the parlor light still on.

Before he could even fish his key out of his pocket though, the door unlocked and swung open to reveal Cloud. Stumbling for words, Roxas smiled weakly. "Uh, hi! There's a good reason for why I was out so late!"

"I'm sure there is but for the moment, I don't care." Cloud ushered him into the entrance hall then upstairs, bodily blocking his view of the parlor. "Go to bed, and no peeking."

A flicker of understanding passed over Roxas's face and he looked at Cloud accusingly. "Are you and Leon still wrapping presents?" When there was no response, Roxas rolled his eyes. "You two always put this off to the last minute. Did you check to make sure you didn't forget anyone?"

Cloud froze for a second then nodded. "We double-checked this year. We'll check again though just to make sure. Now. You. Up. Bed."

"Alright, alright." Roxas shook his head but made sure not to peek down into the parlor as he hurried up the stairs. While it would have been easy to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the parlor, the childish side of him still wanted everything to be a surprise on Christmas morning. So he kept his eyes on the stairs and dashed up to the second story. Sora and Riku's door was closed so he tiptoed passed and slipped into his room. Quickly changing into his pajamas, he took a quick trip to the bathroom to brush his teeth then settled into bed, immediately relaxing as soon as he lay down.

The next thing Roxas was aware of was a large mass dropping onto the mattress on top of him. He snapped up into a sitting position only to smack foreheads with whoever was straddling him, the force of the blow sending him straight back down to his pillow.

"Ow! Roxas, you have a hard head!"

"Or maybe you just have a thick skull." Rubbing his aching head Roxas glared up at his much too festive older brother as Sora clutched his own forehead. "What do you want?"

"It's Christmas Eve!" Sora indicated to the Santa hat perched jauntily on his spiky hair. "And it's already noon! You have to get up! Come on, Roxas, we still have tons of decorating to do before everyone comes over and Leon needs help in the kitchen."

"Sora, no twenty-year-old should be this giddy about decorating," Roxas grumbled, nonetheless sitting back up as Sora hopped off of him. He grunted with surprise as Sora grabbed onto his hand, heaving him out of bed. Catching his balance, Roxas looked up only to receive a face full of sweater, his hands flying up to yank it off of his face as Sora nearly pranced around him.

"Just admit it, Roxas. You're as excited as I am! So get dressed and come downstairs, or else I'm definitely going to put the star onto the Christmas tree without you."

Roxas tore off his night shirt as Sora danced out of his room and quickly pulled on the sweater his brother had chosen for him. Sora was right. He was excited about Christmas. And there was no way in hell he was going to let Sora put the star on the tree. They always saved decorating it until Christmas day and it had always been Roxas's job to put on the final touch by adding the star.

Three minutes later he was bounding down the stairs, not surprised to see that while he was sleeping in, the banister had already been hung with garlands and lights. While their household was made up of only men, having such a nice house made it almost impossible to resist decking it out as elaborately as possible. They never went overboard though, keeping on the inside at least to what a traditional Christmas would have looked like. It matched the style of the house and practically emanated warm, Christmas cheer.

In the few minutes it had taken to get dressed, Sora had already begun to hang up ornaments on the tree, which Roxas noted definitely had more presents underneath it after last night. Soft Christmas music was coming from the stereo next to the TV as Sora climbed up onto a chair to reach the higher branches. Over on the couch, Riku was stretched across its full length, peacefully reading. While Sora was dressed in a cozy sweater and slacks, the former ghost had dressed a little more formally for the occasion, looking sharp in a dress shirt and vest. Eyeing Riku for a moment, Roxas crossed his arms. "And why did I get dragged down here if he's not being put to work?"

"I am helping," Riku said smoothly. He lifted his aquamarine gaze from his book to the pile of ornaments on the table. With a genteel flick of his wrist, one of the ornaments levitated up into the air before it floated over to the tree. Sora giggled at the sight as Roxas rolled his eyes. Psychokinesis. Totally cheating.

Footsteps behind him caused Roxas to turn around, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of Leon in an apron. Leon rolled his eyes at his son's expression. "I don't want to get my clothes dirty. Cloud's outside finishing hanging the lights so you can either go out and help him or help me with dinner and dessert. You could also help Sora finish up decorating the house."

Roxas glanced over at Sora, his eyes widening when he saw that his brother had somehow stumbled across a sprig of mistletoe amongst the ornaments, which meant he was either going to start kissing him, or worse, Riku. Those two were as affectionate as ever after four years of dating, so watching them kiss was out of the question. Hm, getting up on the frozen roof or baking cookies in the kitchen. Tough choice. "I'll help in the kitchen."

"Thought you might. Sora, don't put the star on, that's Roxas's job." Sora pouted as Leon led Roxas into the kitchen. Roxas knew that Leon would rather be the one up on the roof but seeing as how he was the only one besides Roxas and Riku who could manage to use the kitchen without blowing something sky-high, he was stuck with making dinner. And no matter how much he sulked about it, the food always came out pretty good.

Seeing that Leon was working on dinner, Roxas went straight to baking cookies. It was a fairly easy job, but after the first cloud of flour exploded in his face, he grudgingly also put on an apron. Like Leon, he didn't feel like changing his outfit if he could help it.

The first few batches of cookies and a quick break to put up the star later he heard the doorbell ring. Frowning, Roxas clapped his hands onto the apron, sending up another puff of flour. "Sora! Can you or Riku get that?"

Leon shook his head, "They left a few minutes ago to get some last minute things for me from the store."

"Oh." Dusting his hands off as best he could, Roxas hurried for the front door. He opened it to find Axel, Zexion, and Demyx on their porch, Demyx carrying a large bag. "Hey, guys."

Axel grinned, "Hey." He stepped forward and wiped off a smudge of flour from Roxas's cheek with his thumb. "Looks like you've been busy today."

Demyx lifted the bag up, "We come bearing gifts! Let us in!"

"Well since you brought presents," Roxas drawled, fondly brushing away Axel's hand. "I guess you can come in." As they walked into the house, Roxas stepped out onto the porch, poking his head out to find Cloud just coming down the ladder. "Are you done?"

"Nearly killed myself twice, but yeah, I think I'm finished." Cloud ran a hand through his blond spikes and observed his work. From what Roxas could see, the lights looked well in order; he couldn't wait to see them lit up. "Do me a favor and go into the garage to turn them on?"

"Oh, let me!" Demyx had listened in to their conversation and was now bolting back out the front door for the garage. Roxas walked over to Cloud and they waited for a few seconds before the lights flickered on into a brilliant glow, following the contour of the roofline and lighting the whole house up. Running back over to them, Demyx clapped his hands together, the Wiccan's cheeks pink from the cold behind a thick scarf. "It looks so pretty!"

"Yeah, good work Cloud."

Cloud looked down at Roxas. "Thanks. I feel a little bad about getting them up so late in the season, but better late then never. We'll just keep them up until New Year's at least." Hearing a crash from inside the house, Cloud winced. "We'd better go in to make sure Axel isn't destroying anything."

"I'll kill him if he is." Roxas growled, stomping inside to find Axel and an exasperated Zexion unloading their presents by the tree. By Axel's sheepish expression, it looked as if he had accidently knocked over a large stack of presents. When he saw Roxas he immediately waved his hands.

"I'll pick everything up!"

Roxas rolled his eyes but moved forward to help restack the pile. "It's fine. This stack is for you guys anyway, so if you broke anything, you'll get to unwrap it."

"What? You might have broken something for me?" Demyx rushed forward, worriedly inspecting any of the boxes for signs of dents as Axel stepped back.

Eying the large pile, Axel turned to Roxas with a raised eyebrow. "This is all for us?"

"Well, yeah." Roxas blushed a little, "You guys are like family, you know? So you get the same amount of presents."

"Aw, you're making me feel all warm and fuzzy, Roxy." Axel wrapped an arm around Roxas's slim waist. "Usually I'd be lucky if Reno managed to scrape together one present for me." Seeing Roxas's eyes widened, he shook his head. "Don't worry about him; he's not alone on Christmas or anything. No, Reno finally took this opportunity to crash Shinra's Christmas party. I only hope Rude can forgive me for unleashing him onto the staff; he's a crazy drunk."

Roxas chuckled, about to settle closer into Axel's arms when Zexion lifted his head. "I think something might be beginning to burn in the kitchen."

Roxas's eyes widened and he sniffed the air. "Oh, shit, the cookies!" Not caring that that was an extremely unmanly sentence, he ripped himself out of Axel's grip and tore into the kitchen just as Leon was saving the cookies from the oven. "Are they burnt?"

"Almost, but not too bad."

Sighing with relief, Roxas moved in to put them onto cooling racks. As he was moving the last cookie, Leon addressed him. "I'm probably fine in here if you want to entertain the guys-" He paused as the sound of the front door opening followed quickly by a mix of Sora and Demyx's excited squeals of "Merry Christmas!" "Actually, just make sure nothing breaks. Put on a movie or something. And if you see Cloud, send him back here."

Roxas did just that as soon as everyone had settled down, putting in "A Christmas Carol." It was a tight squeeze on the couch with the six of them. In the end, Sora and Roxas ended up on the ground with pillows, though Roxas wasn't complaining much as he settled against Axel's legs. Sora looked pretty cozy against Riku as well. The movie was probably more entertaining than it should have been what with all of its supernatural themes.

Namine arrived just in time for dinner, cheeks flushed. Demyx immediately began questioning her about how her date went but she only blushed deeper and shook her head secretly, a small smile on her lips. It took all of Zexion's skills to pull his boyfriend away from his excited interrogations and to the dinner table. By some miracle, they had managed to fit nine chairs around the table. Everyone was bumping elbows, but the food was good enough for everyone to forget the lack of space. Sitting at the head of the table across from Cloud, Leon appeared satisfied enough with how everything had turned out, though halfway through the meal he had announced that everyone else would be doing the dishes.

Dinner went smoothly and Roxas couldn't help but happily soak in the feeling of being with family as everyone began trading stories of memorable Christmases. Sora's rendition of their first Christmas with Cloud and Leon had sent everyone into fits of laughter except for an embarrassed Leon and Cloud. Let's just say that they hadn't quite figured out how to work Santa into the entire equation and had woken Sora and Roxas up frantically trying to put some last minute presents together.

After dinner, everyone gathered back into the parlor, Demyx making a quick trip to his car for his guitar. Axel had laughed when he saw it but had immediately broken out into a carol, throwing his arms over Roxas and Zexion's shoulders. When Roxas had looked back to Cloud and Leon for help, he was dismayed to find that Leon was recording the entire thing on a digital recorder.

It took playful bullying from both Sora and Axel before Roxas finally broke down and sang along to a song, feeling almost vindictive as he raised his voice to meet Axel's. Axel had laughed it off though and had merely started swaying along to the tune of the song, taking both Roxas and a squirming Zexion with him. Apparently it was impossible to stop the force of a musician.

Luckily for Roxas's dignity, his voice still sounding like a pop star's much to his chagrin, Demyx only knew a few Christmas tunes. Soon enough, he was released from Axel's grip as Demyx pouted. "That's all I know…"

Smirking, Axel patted his friend on his styled mess of hair. "That's alright, Dem. I'm sure Zexion feels like reading a story, don't you, Zexy?"

Zexion frowned, crossing his arms. "No, I don't. That's a stupid tradition and I don't even know how it started. Besides, I need to leave for Christmas mass in an hour. It lasts until midnight so I want to get a good seat."

Roxas tilted his head to the side. "What are you guys talking about?"

Grinning, Demyx grabbed Zexion's shoulder. "For the past few years, Zexion read us a Christmas story."

"Only so the three of you would settle down enough to honor the spirit of the holiday." Zexion's visible eye was wide as he turned to Cloud and Leon. "Please tell me you have something else planned for the night."

Cloud smirked, looking to Leon who only shrugged before he glanced back at Zexion. "Not really. A story might be nice though."

"Please, Zexy?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Zexion looked to the ceiling to avoid Demyx's pleading eyes before he nodded. "Why must you be so childish sometimes?" When he received only a tug on his sleeve he sighed again. "Fine. One story. Then I need to leave." He frowned as Demyx grinned wide. "Just one story though."

So they all sat down to listen to Zexion tell a story. Surprisingly, the story itself wasn't too religious. From what Roxas had seen of the book Demyx had passed to his boyfriend, it looked to be a collection of holiday stories from the late 1800s. It was actually more entertaining than what Roxas had initially imagined. While Zexion wasn't intensely expressive, he kept an even tone that kept the attention, and for the extent of the story, everyone remained quiet. Roxas could imagine that it would have been a very good tool for calming down Axel and Demyx.

As soon as he was done, Zexion stood up, quietly closing his book and releasing everyone from his spell. "Now if you would excuse me, I have mass to attend."

Cloud smiled softly, looking to the others. "While you do that, the rest of us should be getting to bed."

Leon nodded. "He's right. You'll all have to figure out how to divide up between Roxas and Sora and Riku's bedrooms, because no one's sleeping down here. Undoubtedly, Sora will wake us all up at six if he has his way, so we should try to get as much sleep as we can."

Grinning, Demyx turned to Sora. "I like to wake up at five myself."

"I know, me too, but everyone else is so cranky so early." Sora perked up at a thought. "Hey, you should sleep in my room! We can wake up early!"

Riku shook his head despairingly as Demyx nodded. "Sure, that sounds awesome! Zexion can sleep with us too."

"Joy."

Demyx smiled apologetically over to Zexion, "It'll be fun! So that means that Namine and Axel can sleep in Roxas's room. Yay, sleepover!"

Axel grinned only to be quickly cut down by Leon's next statement. "I'll get the sleeping bags from the garage then. In the meantime you can go upstairs and get ready for bed."

"Man, it feels like I'm a kid again or something," Axel grumbled as he stood up, though his eyes were shining happily showing that he too was caught up in the Christmas mood. He stretched then reached down to catch Roxas's smaller hand. "Come on. Me and Namine need to find out where we're going to spread out on your floor."

Roxas glanced up at him then nodded, smiling as he motioned for Namine to follow as they headed upstairs followed closely by the rest of the younger generation, Demyx taking a few extra seconds by the front door to see Zexion out. Once they were all upstairs, they divided up into the two rooms. It took a while and a bit of strategic maneuvering to cycle them all through the small bathroom but the time they had all dressed down into their pajamas Leon had dropped off the necessary sleeping bags along with extra pillows and blankets. Roxas walked into his room from the bathroom to find Axel unrolling his sleeping bag. When the redhead caught sight of him, a grin spread across his lips. "My God, you're adorable."

Roxas frowned then looked down at his pajamas before crossing his arms defensively. "It's cold. I can wear flannel if I want."

"And I have no problem with that. Come over here."

"Namine's going to be back from the bathroom in a few seconds."

"That's enough time. Come here."

Still frowning, Roxas padded over, the floorboards cold under his bare feet. As soon as he was close enough, Axel wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's waist. He raised a hand to tenderly caress Roxas's cheek, smiling as Roxas leaned into the touch. "So, Roxas…"

"Hm?"

"What are you planning to do once you graduate?"

Roxas opened his eyes, looking up at Axel questioningly. "I'm not sure. Go to RGU probably. I don't know what I'm going to study though. Olette's been talking about opening a café or something, she's managed to rope Pence and Hayner into her idea so if it actually works out I imagine that I'll at least have a part time job."

"Look at you, sounding all grown up with talk of jobs."

"I've been working for two years now." Roxas's irritation was diffused when Axel pulled him closer. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just planning things out, Roxy." Back to nicknames, Axel poked the tip of Roxas's nose. "I'm always planning. Now why don't you get into bed before I decide to sneak in there with you and your cute flannel pjs?"

Roxas snorted but did as he was told and slipped into bed. Just in time too. Not a moment later, Namine walked into the room, closing the door behind her now that everyone was inside. Axel flopped down innocently onto the floor, resting his arms under his head as he smirked up at her. "You're going to have to find your own place to sleep. Me and my legs claim all of this space."

Namine lifted a delicate eyebrow and Roxas smiled guiltily. His room really wasn't that big, and Axel's long frame basically took up the area with the most space at the foot of his bed. Namine was pretty much out of viable spaces to sleep. Suddenly, Namine pressed her hands together and giggled. "It's alright, Axel. I'm sure Roxas wouldn't mind if I slept in bed with him. It's a queen size, big enough for the both of us after all."

Roxas blinked. "Hm? Oh, yeah, sure."

Axel sat up, just tall enough to look over the footboard and watch as Namine slipped into the bed as well, his expression very much affronted. "What the hell? You're okay with that Roxas?"

Roxas glared at him. "Why shouldn't I be? You took up all the floor space. And it'd be rude to let her sleep on the ground anyway while I'm in bed. I mean, the floor's hardwood. Besides, me and her have been through a bad ghost experience today, we deserve it."

"What about me?"

"You can take care of yourself."

"Hmph. Scoot over." Roxas let out a yelp as Axel lifted up the covers but couldn't find the heart to protest as Axel gently pushed him in to the center of the mattress. A second later, he flushed as Axel's weight dropped down onto the mattress, the flush deepening as a long arm wrapped around his waist. Even though there was no sexual tension at all, this was still the first time he had been in bed with Axel! On his other side, Namine giggled and he could feel rather than see Axel grin behind him. "Well, goodnight, kiddies."

Snorting, Roxas rolled his eyes as Namine let out a small "goodnight." He would have never imagined that he would be so comfortable with people outside his family, but right now there was nothing awkward or tense about them being together. It was like sleeping with Sora. Well, that was how it felt with Namine anyway. Soon enough, he felt his eyes getting heavy and before he knew it, he was asleep.

OoOoOoO

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"Shit, what the hell?!"

"It's Christmas morning! Wake up!"

Roxas's eyes snapped open at the sound of a loud thump and he sat up. Blearily rubbing his eyes, he squinted over to see that Axel was gone from his side of the bed. Namine was sitting up beside him, looking as confused as he felt when something dropped down on the bed in front of him. Demyx. He grunted as Demyx grabbed onto his shoulders, glaring sleepily as he was shaken into consciousness. "Mn, stop, whatdyou want?"

"It's Christmas!"

Suddenly Axel sprung up off of the ground, hand flying to grab Demyx's ear. "What the hell did you pull me off the bed for?"

"Ow, ow, ow! It was the only way I could think of to get you up quick enough!"

Sora quickly took Demyx's place and grabbed Roxas and Namine's hands, "Come on, we've got to go downstairs!"

Roxas blinked sleepily, blue eyes drifting up to the doorway when Zexion shuffled in, a blanket draped over his shoulders as he rubbed his eyes. Beside him, Riku was leaning against the doorway, somehow managing to look ridiculously put together even at six in the morning in his pajamas, although he was a little pale. Maybe it was the robe he was wrapped up in. He also seemed a little distracted with some thought or another but that might have been because he just woke up. Running a hand through his smooth silver hair, he spoke up slowly, the thickness of his voice the only thing giving his grogginess away. "Sora, maybe we should give them a few minutes to wake before forcing them down the stairs…Why don't you go see if Leon and Cloud are awake?"

Sora grinned, leaping off of Roxas's bed and speeding passed Riku and Zexion. Roxas had no doubt that Leon and Cloud were in for a rude awakening. As his brother left the room, Roxas gathered the strength to slide out of bed.

Within a few minutes, Sora was dragging Cloud and Leon by his open doorway, either not caring or not noticing that both of them looked more asleep than awake. When they got downstairs, Roxas immediately perked up at the sight of all of the presents. Finally, they would get to open them! Unable to keep the grin off of his face, he dashed forward, beating Sora into the parlor. Fueled by each other's excitement, they quickly sorted through them all, creating separate piles for everyone as per name.

As Roxas was sorting through the many presents he was surprised to come across two small boxes, one for him and one for Sora, from Axel and Riku respectively. Curious, he put them on top of both of their piles, sending Axel a questioning glance. Axel only shrugged mysteriously.

After that, the present opening turned into a sort of blur of paper and boxes and gifts. Demyx got some new CD's, Namine got a sketch pad and a nice set of oil paints. Zexion got an entire mountain of books which he appeared all too happy with and even Leon was glowing happily at the new leather jacket Cloud had bought for him. Present after present was ripped open until it Sora and Roxas only had their little presents left. Swallowing, and with a glance for some reason over to Cloud and Leon, Riku picked up his gift for Sora. "I was hoping you would open this somewhere more private. Could we go up to the bedroom?"

Sora tilted his head to the side but nodded, sending a confused look to Roxas before following his boyfriend upstairs. As they left the room, Axel grinned slyly. "Something private in the bedroom, eh? I wonder what they're doing?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Roxas growled, smacking Axel in the arm.

Wincing, Axel rubbed the abused limb. "Alright, alright. Open your present before I decide to take it back. Damn you hit hard for a small guy."

With a snort, Roxas nonetheless tore open the wrapping paper, stopping when he saw a small jewelry box. Axel hadn't gotten him some stupid piece of jewelry, had he? He wasn't that much of the girl in the relationship. With some trepidation, Roxas cracked open the box, nervousness turning to confusion when he opened it to find that it was indeed a necklace chain, but attached to it was some sort of key. Perhaps seeing the confusion written on the blond's face, Axel leaned forward to explain, suddenly sounding a little unsure with himself. "That's the um, the key to my apartment. Talked you your dads. They said it would be okay if you were, you know, if you wanted to move in with me after you graduate high school. Me and Reno have an extra room ever since Demyx moved out, so you'd get your own space. And you'd have to live with Reno, but he works long hours anyway, so it wouldn't be that bad. Hell, I have long hours at the fire station too, so hopefully wouldn't get too sick of me either. What do you say, Roxas. Want to give it a try?"

Roxas looked down at the key, running his fingers down the cool metal before he glanced up at Axel's anxious eyes. So Axel really was serious about being a couple. Thank God, he loved Axel too much for it not to be serious. Joy and relief welled up inside his chest and he didn't bother to hide it from his expression as he smiled. "I'd like that."

A smile matching Roxas's lit Axel's face and he grabbed Roxas, pulling him close into a tight embrace. From the couch, Leon crossed his arms as he watched Roxas slip the chain on over his head. "Even though your eighteen now, Roxas, Cloud and I are expecting you and Axel to behave yourselves until you graduate. Until then you still could be considered a minor."

"How long have you two known about this?"

"A few weeks." Cloud smiled a bit, "Axel talked to us before he got the key made. You're lucky we said yes; that was the second time in the same week someone came to us asking our permission for something big."

"What are you talking about?"

Cloud nodded up to the ceiling then grabbed Leon's hand, tracing the other's wedding band as Leon sent him a slightly weaker but nonetheless warm smile. Roxas started at their intertwined fingers for a second before his eyes widened. "Wait, Riku's gonna…?"

Getting to his feet at the sudden sound of thundering steps, he hurried upstairs, met halfway on the stairs by a teary Sora. It took Roxas a frantic moment to realize the tears were happy ones as Sora grabbed his hands. "Roxas, look!" Roxas looked down to see a gold band around Sora's finger before his brother pulled him into a tight hug. Burying his face into Roxas's shoulder, Sora gave a small hiccup-filled laugh. "I'm so happy! I love him so much and he finally asked!"

Roxas relaxed into Sora's embrace, hugging his big brother with equal force. Over Sora's shoulder he saw Riku at the top of the stairs. The former ghost looked paler than usual from the courage it must have taken to ask the question but he was smiling tenderly. Roxas sighed then grabbed tighter to Sora. If Sora was happy, then so was he. Riku would take care of Sora. Axel would take care of him. They were finally part of a larger family with loving parents, great friends, and wonderful lovers.

Somehow everything had turned out right, and Roxas knew it would last a lifetime.


	22. Author's Note

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Whoa there, dudes. I don't mean to get you excited about a new chapter of Song of the Condemned.

No, this is one of those dreaded author's notes. I just wanted to let you guys know that, if you're interested, I've started a new story called "Oathkeeper's Dawn." You might not have noticed it because it's off hiding in the fantasy section, but it'd be awesome if you wanted to go check it out. Good news for you is that, so far, all of the chapters are pretty long; I've been trying really hard to keep up the quality of things.

So yeah, just wanted to let you know in case you weren't aware of what's going on.

Have a good day, dudes! Thanks for reading! ^^

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**Recent Edit**: I've put up a little oneshot for this series in the spirit of Halloween! It's called "Memories of the Forgotten." It takes place a few years after SotC and I hope you enjoy!


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